Occupied Palestinian Territory - OPT Acted

Gaza: ACTED’s Emergency Assistance for families to meet their needs

The living conditions in the Gaza strip have been deteriorating due to the consecutive shocks that the area has been experiencing since the beginning of the Israeli blockade in 2007, including the latest hostilities in May 2021.

The population of the Gaza strip is approximately 2.1 million people. It’s one of the most densely populated areas in the world with almost 5800 individuals per square kilometer.

The humanitarian needs overview for 2021 estimates that about 1.6 million individuals in Gaza require humanitarian aid with over 1 million of which being in severe need.

Humanitarian Needs Overview

Like an overwhelming part of the population in Gaza, Layla and her family could not meet some of their most basic needs, and needed urgent humanitarian relief.

With the help of ACTED, Layla was able to improve her family’s living situation and obtain some of her household’s basic necessities.

 

Layla lives in the Gaza strip and is the sole provider for her family of eight. Her husband suffers from epilepsy and clinical depression, and is therefore unable to provide for his household. Layla is a daily worker and works as a housekeeper a few days a week to support her family while her eldest son, who has finished school, works for three dollars a day on average to support them as well.

Common Household Struggles in Gaza

Despite Layla’s best effort to support her family, the poor economic state of Gaza does not offer many opportunities to enhance the purchasing power of her household. Following her husband’s diagnosis, her family could no longer afford basic necessities, such as food and clothing. Layla was unable to pay her daughter’s university tuition fees and could not purchase medication for her husband.

“My Husband’s illness has left him unable to work, and being the only provider for the family, I struggle to even meet my family’s most basic needs. I could not afford paying for my daughter’s education. ACTED’s assistance has helped my family immensely and I’m very grateful for their intervention.”

Layla

Her household mainly relied on governmental assistance which is not consistent. Families in need often have to go through prolonged periods without assistance. The escalation in May 2021 worsened her situation even more, as she could not work and lost her daily income. During this period, she had to take on debts to enable her family to meet their necessities. In this context, ACTED’s intervention in partnership with The Crisis and Support Centre of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs helped this family and many others to improve their living situation.

The impact of ACTED’s intervention

In May 2021, ACTED started implementing a project that aims at reducing the most negative impacts of the recent hostilities on vulnerable Palestinian communities in the Gaza Strip.

The recent escalations of May 2021 led to the partial or complete destruction of more than 58,000 housing units in Gaza.

ACTED

This project has provided food parcels to 200 households, non-food item kits to 138 households, cash assistance to 183 households, and water assistance to 625 households. This project addressed the most crucial needs of the most impacted households in the area.

This project provided Layla with the means to obtain some of her family’s requirements. This intervention helped Layla to pay off some of her household debts that she had notably accumulated during the last escalation, buy household necessities such as food, kitchenware, medication for her husband as well as winter clothes and shoes for her children. Additionally, this action helped her acquire some material to repair the ceiling of her daughter’s bedroom. The most influential impact of this project was helping Layla pay for her eldest daughter’s university tuition fees; she paid two deposits to the university and purchased some essential university supplies for her.

“This project has improved my living situation tremendously. Not only was I able to provide my family with their daily needs but I was also able to pay for my daughter’s university. I’m so happy that she will be able to continue her education just like her peers. I’m truly thankful for this help. You have brought joy for me and my children”.

Layla

The impact of this intervention has been life-changing, not just for Layla and her household, but for many others across the Gaza strip. Supporting the most vulnerable households in meeting their urgent needs is a priority for ACTED, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory but across the world.