Supporting those who continue to endure
This Ramadan, with your generous support, UPA staff in Gaza and Jordan personally delivered food parcels and food vouchers to marginalized families in need. In Gaza, approximately 120 families benefitted from this initiative, which focused on those who were unable to put food on their tables during this holy month. UPA’s mental health practitioners (MHPs) also visited with each beneficiary to hear his or her story, so each beneficiary knew they were not forgotten.
UPA’s Gaza staff was able to visit Hussam Sarsour, a 38-year-old father of four who is on crutches and unable to work. Upon entering his home, the staff saw that it was uninhabitable, with no electricity, poor drinking water quality and a broken sewage system in the bathroom.
“I hope to have a regular income to meet our essential needs and to improve our home,” said Hussam. Despite all the uncertainty in his life, he was happy to spend time speaking with the MHPs.
In Jordan, UPA staff and volunteers from the UPA International Advisory Council and their friends & family worked with local suppliers to provide food vouchers to over 160 families living in Gaza Camp in Jerash, Jordan.
Gaza Camp was created in 1967 to house Palestinians primarily from Gaza who had fled to Jordan during the 1967 war. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA], the camp has more than 29,000 residents and is the poorest of the ten recognized Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan.
While searching through the shelves for items for her family, Rawhiah, a resident of Gaza Camp, stopped to express her gratitude to Nisreen Abusheikh, UPA’s Jordan Programs Coordinator. “Thank you all for this initiative and for all the work you do in our camp,” said Rawhiah. She went on to tell Nisreen, “I don’t worry about my needs. I care about being able to support my kids.” In addition to her children, Rawhiah also cares for her father and is barely able to survive on her husband’s income alone.
Because of your generosity towards UPA’s Humanitarian Support initiatives, we continue to reach more people like Rawhiah, existing under the most difficult circumstances. Thank you.
