In Gaza, families live under strict siege of land, sea, and air blockade, limiting the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza. Further, funding cuts to UNRWA coupled with frequent military attacks have disproportionately affected children’s physical and psychological well-being. During Ramadan, KinderUSA implemented a program for children from 8 of the…
Five year old Lina lives with her 9 member family on the border in Rafah, one of the poorest and most dangerous areas to live in Gaza due to the tunnels. All the children in the family suffer from malnourishment and all exhibit signs of stunting and rickets in addition to post traumatic stress disorder,…
Today, on World Refugee Day, we reflect on the importance of family. We are reminded of how Palestinian families in Gaza, the West Bank, and among the larger diaspora, scattered across the globe, persevere against a backdrop of continued denial of respect for human dignity, freedom, and universal human rights. These are values which we…
The people in Gaza are unjustly suffering and deserve the right to live as dignified human beings. Calls continue to come in to KinderUSA asking for food assistance. In the final days of Ramadan, over 2000 families have received healthy, nutritious food, restoring a portion of the dignity that has been stripped from them. Mohammed’s…
The final days of Ramadan finds many families grateful to all who contributed to the fresh food distribution, making this month one where they did not have to worry about how they will feed their children. Akram and Sabreen, one of the families thankful for your generosity, live in Rafah with their 9 children, the oldest…
Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? Manar heads a household of 7 in Khan Younis. Unemployed and without a fixed income, Manar hauls merchandise for businesses in a rented donkey cart and lives on approximately $2 a day after paying…
Palestinian children are growing up with a deep sense of hopelessness and insecurity about their future. According to UNICEF, one in four children are in need of psychosocial support to prevent the progression of mental health disorders. Left untreated, children face major challenges from educational attainments to leading productive lives. In addition to our Ramadan…
Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? Once again, the blessed month of Ramadan is upon us, and we at KinderUSA would like to wish you and your families Ramadan Mubarak! It is difficult to read many of the stories coming…
A father of seven children, Mohammed worries each day how he will feed his family. Injured, and permanently disabled, Mohammed is unable to walk on his own and hence, confined to a wheelchair. Completely dependent on aid with no source of income, the family has received food primarily fromUNRWA. With the recent cuts to funding of…
Hanan is a 54 year old woman who cares for 10 family members in her makeshift home in Rafah. Ten years ago, Hanan and her husband separated, which left her dependent on outside aid to feed her family. Although she receives some monetary assistance and a modest income, the total amounts to approximately $1.10 a…
In Gaza, families live under strict siege of land, sea, and air blockade, limiting the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza. Further, funding cuts to UNRWA coupled with frequent military attacks have disproportionately affected children’s physical and psychological well-being.
During Ramadan, KinderUSA implemented a program for children from 8 of the most marginalized areas of Gaza. Our goal was to reach 1400 children, but when parents heard of the program, they pleaded with representatives to include their children as “they have nothing here.” In the end, 1950 children participated in a month of activities that included a meal to break fast at the close of each day.
Children ranged in age from 7-15 who come from families with no income, makeshift housing, and have no safe play areas. From story-telling to basketball, young coordinators were paid a stipend to bring 4 hours a day of fun filled activity for these children. “Many of the children did not eat all their food, taking it home to their families who did not have such a meal”, said Ahmed, a coordinator. “Most of the children were nervous at first. Their families cannot afford taking them to special places, like a garden or sports club because they are very poor and consider playing games a luxury, not a basic need.” “Children have an inherent right to play, and to think children are growing up with belief that play is a luxury informs all of us, we must do better,” said Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, Chairperson KinderUSA.
KinderUSA is continuing this program through the summer so children will know that playing is not a luxury, but a right. Please consider making an online donation today to help us continue this program through the brutally hot summer days in Gaza.
Five year old Lina lives with her 9 member family on the border in Rafah, one of the poorest and most dangerous areas to live in Gaza due to the tunnels. All the children in the family suffer from malnourishment and all exhibit signs of stunting and rickets in addition to post traumatic stress disorder, a consequence of the repeated wars and cross border fighting.
Lina is a beneficiary of the nutritional meals program KinderUSA sponsors at her kindergarten. Since the program began, Lina’s weight has increased since the beginning of the semester and she has become more active and participatory in the classroom. Her mother, Heba, noted that Lina now looks forward to going to school and comes home “happy and talks about her day.” Often, she has taken some of her food home to share with her siblings who do not benefit from the program at their schools.
When you donate to KinderUSA, you are not simply supporting a charity, you are affirming the dignity of Palestinian children and, indeed, all the world’s children. We believe that every child deserves the right to live in peace and safety and to hope for a better future.
Today, on World Refugee Day, we reflect on the importance of family. We are reminded of how Palestinian families in Gaza, the West Bank, and among the larger diaspora, scattered across the globe, persevere against a backdrop of continued denial of respect for human dignity, freedom, and universal human rights.
These are values which we all share. Yet in Palestine, a mother must face the possible tragedy of her child dying alone in a hospital in Jerusalem while she remains behind in Gaza due to the denial of a travel permit. Palestinian mothers face a cruel dilemma. They know that if they do not allow their infant children to travel alone to Jerusalem – without the comfort of their voice or their loving touch – their children may die.
When you donate to KinderUSA, you are not simply supporting a charity, you are affirming the dignity of Palestinian children and, indeed, all the world’s children. We believe that every child deserves the right to live in peace and safety and to hope for a better future.
On World Refugee Day, we once again ask you to support these innocent children.
The people in Gaza are unjustly suffering and deserve the right to live as dignified human beings. Calls continue to come in to KinderUSA asking for food assistance. In the final days of Ramadan, over 2000 families have received healthy, nutritious food, restoring a portion of the dignity that has been stripped from them. Mohammed’s family is just one example.
Aged 12, Mohammed is one of 5 children in Fares and Rana’s home situated in Beit Lahia, Gaza. Each day after school Mohammed finds odd jobs to help his family as his father is physically disabled and can no longer work.
The family receives $100 a month in aid that helps with medicine, food, and all the household needs. Mohammed does his part bringing approximately $1 a day hauling trash, or delivering goods. “Whatever I can find!” says Mohammed, proudly.
Beneficiaries of the Ramadan fresh food distribution, Fares said, “Some weeks we live on one kilo of tomatoes. Its all we can afford. I don’t know when we last had meat or any full meal. This is a true blessing. My children have not seen this much food in a very long time. Thank you to all who gave us this chance.”
KinderUSA as reached the final stages of the second distribution of fresh food to families in Gaza. Through a policy of siege, now in its twelfth year, two million people are isolated, impoverished, and mostly ignored by the outside world. The injustice in Gaza is daunting, but YOU, our donors, have provided a glimmer of hope this Ramadan. Thank you.
The final days of Ramadan finds many families grateful to all who contributed to the fresh food distribution, making this month one where they did not have to worry about how they will feed their children. Akram and Sabreen, one of the families thankful for your generosity, live in Rafah with their 9 children, the oldest 15 and the youngest 4.
Recently evicted from their home due to unpaid rental, Akram, unemployed, found his family living in a tent for 2 weeks. Through the generosity of a local family, a parcel of land was offered so they could build a structure to keep their children off the streets. Gathering metal sheets and plastic sheathing, the family was able to keep the elements out though they have no electricity, water, windows or doors. “We must pay a monthly amount to build a home, which we do not have.” says Sabreen, “This gives us hope.”
The family receives approximately $130 a month from the Ministry of Social Affairs to pay for all their needs. Their oldest son was recently injured in an automobile accident losing an eye and now suffers from paralysis to his left side.
“Although there are dozens of the Ngo’s in Rafah, you are the only association who care for us and visit us” Sabreen told our field staff.
Upon receiving the first of 2 Ramadan fresh food distributions, Sabreen said, “For the gift from Allah, our family was chosen from the project during Ramadan and we have fresh vegetables, chicken and fruits and this quantity is enough for us. We also this month saved the amount of money to buy the glasses to my son Diab. I am very grateful to all. Thank you.”
The situation in Gaza continues to be intolerable with 2 million people besieged, isolated, and desperate.
All of us at KinderUSA remain humbled by your generosity which IS making a difference!
| Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates? |
| Manar heads a household of 7 in Khan Younis. Unemployed and without a fixed income, Manar hauls merchandise for businesses in a rented donkey cart and lives on approximately $2 a day after paying rent for the cart. His children range in age of 4-12 years old and have the needs of any child in school and growing. The family receives $33 a month in food aid from UNRWA who recently stated that over 1 million people in Gaza risk going hungry unless the international community fills the gapping whole in funding after cuts to the organization. Like many in Gaza today, Manar considers suicide “often” according to his wife, Maysoon, but the children are “too young and whatever we can do, we will do it to survive.” Also, like many in Gaza, two of their children require medical treatment, one in need of a cornea transplant and another congenital heart defect. A recipient of the Ramadan fresh food distribution, Maysoon was so elated. “We have not this much food in our home in months! I cannot remember the last time we had meat, and now we have living chickens! Please thank all the people who contributed. May Allah reward them all!” Your donations are coming at a critical time for Gazans, considerably improving their dire nutritional and living conditions. We are halfway to our goal this Ramadan and thank you all who have contributed to this program. Our work is only possible serving with your continued support. |
Palestinian children are growing up with a deep sense of hopelessness and insecurity about their future. According to UNICEF, one in four children are in need of psychosocial support to prevent the progression of mental health disorders. Left untreated, children face major challenges from educational attainments to leading productive lives.
In addition to our Ramadan food distribution, KinderUSA is supporting 1450 children from 7 areas of Gaza devastated by war and the ongoing blockade (approx. 200 children from each area). Local youth are paid a small stipend to act as mentors implementing activities during the month of Ramadan. Each area will implement balloon launching, parachute games, relay races, cultural competition, and story telling to name some of the activities. The beneficiary children were an integral part of the decision making process as to which games and programs to implement. “When we arrived to the area for the initial meeting, the children chased the bus!”, said Mohammed. “They are anxious to be a part of the fun.”
At the close of each day, a meal is provided with some children carrying the meals home to eat with their families, while others stay and break fast with their friends. Thank you to all who made this program possible for the children in Gaza!
Did you know that food insecurity in Gaza affects 1.3 million people and is driven by high poverty and unemployment rates?
Once again, the blessed month of Ramadan is upon us, and we at KinderUSA would like to wish you and your families Ramadan Mubarak!
It is difficult to read many of the stories coming through from our field staff as they begin the Ramadan Farmers Fresh Food distribution. With over 68 per cent of households in the Gaza Strip food insecure, the reality on the ground speaks volumes with more people falling into poverty each year. It should have come as no surprise that when we sat down with our beneficiaries last year to map out future projects, they were clear, they wanted food.
The reason for growing numbers of food insecurity is limited, or no economic opportunity mostly due to the blockade, now in its 12th year. Mousa, a father of 7, is unemployed and relies on aid to feed his family. They live in a structure unfit and unsafe, cold in the winter and brutally hot in the summer. Field representatives interviewed Mousa during the vetting process of beneficiaries for the Ramadan fresh food distribution.
“I cannot provide food for my sons, there is no flour, and the fridge is empty. What difference, we have no electricity. This is not a life and I don’t know why we are still alive. I want my sons to live like all people in the world, but I cannot provide anything for them.” said Mousa through anger and tears.
Mousa expresses the level of hopelessness so many Gazan’s face today. KinderUSA will continue to support children and their families who rely on all of us to survive. For a cost of just $139 per family, we are able to increase food security and provide healthful food options during the month of Ramadan. Thank you to all who have already contributed. Our work is impossible without your continued support!
A father of seven children, Mohammed worries each day how he will feed his family. Injured, and permanently disabled, Mohammed is unable to walk on his own and hence, confined to a wheelchair. Completely dependent on aid with no source of income, the family has received food primarily fromUNRWA. With the recent cuts to funding of both UNRWA and USAID to Palestine, education, healthcare, shelter, and food support have worsened pushing families, like Mohammed’s, further to the edge.
The cutting of funding coupled with the blockade continues to be a source of deepening vulnerability for families across Gaza. Children are always the most vulnerable while heads of household do all within their means to provide food, mostly reducing diversity in their diets affecting the quality of nutrition.
“We usually sleep with our stomachs empty, giving our children what we have which is never enough,” said Mohammed’s wife Ayat. “I clean people’s houses to purchase some food which is limited. The children eat chips sometimes given by classmates.”
Mohammed and his family were recipients of the Ramadan Farmers Food distribution last year. “It was a very depressing time not knowing how I would feed my family during this holiest of months. I did not want to face my children,” said Mohammed.
Ayat was excited to learn they were receiving fresh food from the KinderUSA distribution. “I couldn’t believe that we would get the food basket. It calmed me down and cleared my mind”, she added. “It helped me preserve my dignity as I don’t have to work for my relatives this month. It made my husband happier and less depressed. For the first time in a long time we had joy in our home.” KinderUSA has completed field verification visits of our beneficiaries and ready to begin the first round of fresh vegetables, dairy, and live chickens for the Ramadan distribution. Sadly, the need is greater this year than the previous 17 Ramadan’s we have worked in Gaza. Our goal is to serve a minimum of 2500 families. With your generous donations, we can exceed that amount and carry beyond Ramadan. “It is staggering to think that in today’s age of robotics, thousands of children in Gaza go to sleep hungry, drink unsafe water, and live in a dangerous sanitation environment. We know we have a job to do and I am asking you to join us to bring food to as many children this Ramadan as we can,” Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, Chairperson KinderUSA.
Please consider making an online donation today of $50, $100, $250, or whatever you can to help expand our reach. Thank you.
Hanan is a 54 year old woman who cares for 10 family members in her makeshift home in Rafah. Ten years ago, Hanan and her husband separated, which left her dependent on outside aid to feed her family. Although she receives some monetary assistance and a modest income, the total amounts to approximately $1.10 a day.
In preparation for the Ramadan food distribution, KinderUSA field staff visited Hanan’s home, writing in their report that her shelter “is not fit for a human being to live.” The roof of the home is covered by metal panels, and there are no doors or windows. The “flooring” consists mostly of sand.
Like Palestinian women in general, Hanan is extremely resilient and resourceful. After separating from her husband, Hanan was determined to attend the university in order to care for her family, hoping a degree would help secure a job. Unfortunately, her age, coupled with the high unemployment rate in Gaza, placed her at the bottom of employer lists.
Undeterred, Hanan began providing private tutoring lessons to special needs children from her home to earn a meager income. “I didn’t give up. I decided to work as a private tutor for a number of students, teaching them in my house to satisfy my family’s needs in order to survive. I have a 20-years old daughter Fedaa with special needs (blind and deaf). I also help my divorced daughter with my grandson, Muayyad, who is 4 years old”, Hanan said. “We are suffering a lot, and in spite of this suffering, I still have hope to survive.”
Hanan and her family are now on the KinderUSA roster of beneficiaries for the Ramadan fresh food distribution. In preparation, our field staff have been visiting families, working with marginalized farmers, and finalizing the chicken and dairy contributions from the women-run cooperatives.
“Sadly, the need is far greater this year than we anticipated. Our goal is to reach as many families as possible with your help,” said Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, Chairperson KinderUSA.
Please consider making an online donation today to help with the preparations for Ramadan and full month of food distribution to families such as Hanan.
We envision a free, just and peaceful Palestine where children thrive and look forward to a productive future, like children everywhere.
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