Subscribe Feed (RSS)Everywhere we went, we saw the blue and white flags of the UN. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides services to more than 1 million registered refugees in the Gaza Strip. It is by far the largest employer in Gaza, with over 10,000 people, virtually all Palestinians.
We passed a number of UNRWA food distribution centers, where crowds of men waited to load WFP sacks onto donkey carts.
UNRWA runs over 200 schools serving nearly 200,000 students, 48% of which are female. Even with 85% of the schools running two shifts daily, classroom size still averages over 40 students. UNRWA operates 20 primary health care facilities and six community rehabilitation centers for persons with disabilities. Ten women’s centers provide refugee women with workshops to promote their role in the family, to raise awareness about domestic violence, which is, as one would expect, on the rise, and help create job opportunities for women. Gaza’s young people are served by six youth activity centers, which have all played a vital role in promoting psycho-social well being as well as simply providing much needed escapes from the dreadful conditions in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA also organizes the annual “Summer Games,” a ten-week recreational initiative that gives nearly a quarter of a million young people in Gaza something to do during the long summer break from school. Some of the sports equipment brought in by our delegation was destined for the games.
We talked to a number of Palestinians to find out how UNRWA is seen in Gaza. Everyone recognizes the fundamental role they play, and we were told that while Hamas certainly doesn’t appreciate the co-ed schools and training centers, they are still mostly supportive of the work done by UNRWA. Some people did talk about risks of creating a dependency on the aid given, but for the most part what we heard was a passionate appeal to end the siege so they could rebuild their economy and take care of themselves.
Category: in gaza
