UPACONNECT NEWSLETTER WINTER 2021
TURNING THE TIDE OF CRISES
Dear Supporter,
Without a doubt, this past year posed unprecedented hardship across UPA’s areas of operation and around the world because of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The multiple fault lines that Palestinian communities have confronted over the past 70 plus years were laid bare and the vulnerable became more vulnerable.
At UPA we understand the gravity of a displaced, besieged, occupied and increasingly economically fragile people confronted with a global pandemic. While the virus added an unexpected and complex layer of challenge to an already complex landscape, I am proud to report that UPA’s humanitarian work rose to the challenge.
As I reflect on 2020, however, it was not the enormous hardships that had the last word. In retrospect, what rises to the surface is a clear sense that having walked alongside Palestinian communities while they faced unbearable circumstances was a privilege; and so too was it a privilege to have had your accompaniment along the way.
UPA accomplishes all that it does because of you. And in a year when charitable giving experienced a decline across the board, it was your faithful support and compassion that made all the difference.
Together, we mitigated the effects of COVID-19 on Palestinians through strengthening existing programs and launching new initiatives.
In 2020, we:
* Responded to the aftermath of the tragic August explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, by delivering medical supplies to Palestinian Red Crescent hospitals and clinics, shored up mental health services for refugees, and delivered nutritious, hot meals to children and the elderly through UPA’s Emergency Relief Fund.
* Provided COVID-19 testing kits for patients and staff at the kidney dialysis center at Al-Hamshari Hospital in Lebanon through UPA’s Emergency Relief Fund, while upgrading essential equipment in keeping with international standards.
* Adapted our mental health services in the Gaza Strip to a virtual platform, reaching over 1,200 people in Gaza, ensuring continuity of care through UPA’s Healing Through Feeling Program.
* Tackled food insecurity for families who lost income due to pandemic-related unemployment and kept Palestinians safe by dispersing critical hygiene supplies through UPA’s Emergency Relief Fund.
* Supported entrepreneurs in the Gaza Strip with training, new equipment, and safety protocols to start or expand their businesses, increase production, and earn a higher income through UPA’s Small Business Development Program.
* Installed a solar energy system to light the Deir Albalah Harbor the Gaza Strip, guaranteeing safer working conditions at night for local fishers through UPA’s Small Business Development Program.
* Secured access to clean water for farming families, their livestock and surrounding villages by rehabilitating water wells in the south Hebron hills, a vulnerable community located in Area C of the West Bank, through UPA’s Agriculture Program.
* Supported the higher education of 78 Palestinian students at 14 universities through UPA’s Mahmoud Darwish Scholarship Fund and expanded the program beyond the West Bank and Gaza to include Palestinian refugees in Jordan
* Continued our annual Ramadan and Winter initiatives, providing nutritious food, warm clothing and heating fuel to the most underserved throughout the region.
Now, as we stand at the beginning of 2021, we face the harsh reality that an end to the pandemic and to the inequities it exacerbated is not yet in sight.
The reality is that in the blockaded Gaza Strip, where more than 40,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported, the medical sector is on the verge of collapse. In the West Bank, the number of COVD-19 cases has exceeded 117,000. Although Israel is obligated to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, they have so far declined to do so.
In Lebanon, more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported, hospitals are overwhelmed and near capacity. Meanwhile, in Jordan, where more than 300,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported, densely populated refugee camps make social distancing an impossible privilege. One common feature binds this reality together: rising poverty and unemployment.
Clear eyed to these harsh realities, undergirded by your support and well prepared for the year ahead, UPA is resolved to turn the tide of crises by creating new pathways to a more vibrant future. In the meantime, I invite you to read the latest edition of UPAConnect Winter 2021!
Sincerely,
Saleem F. Zaru
Executive Director
| IN THIS ISSUE | pg. |
| Lebanon: Responding to a Confluence of Disasters | 4 |
| Message from Lebanon: Health Care Society | 7 |
| Winter Shield: Protecting Palestinian Refugees | 8 |
| From Tackling Emergencies to Achieving Sustainable Impact | 9 |
| Wrapping Up 2020 | 10 |
| New Poetry Collection | 10 |
| UPA Spirit Award | 11 |
| Meet UPA’s New Senior Director of Development & Communications | 11 |