More than 2 million registered Palestinian refugees reside in Jordan, forming the largest Palestine refugee community in the Middle East.

Approximately 370,000 of those those refugees live in ten camps, including the Gaza and Hittin camps, both of which were established to accommodate Palestinians who fled the Gaza Strip during the 1967 war.

Today, nearly 30,000 Palestinian refugees live in Gaza Camp, while more than 53,000 live in Hittin Camp. They are among the most underserved communities, lacking basic housing and essential services. 

To make matters worse, the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has severely impacted those communities, where unemployment and poverty have only worsened over the past year. With life coming to a grinding halt due to the pandemic, numerous families have lost their sole source of income, and many are stranded with little support in ill-equipped dwellings with make-shift roofs. 

These conditions make wintertime in Jordan especially difficult. 

UPA’s “Winter Shield” campaign is working to protect Palestinian refugee families from the harshest stretch of winter by installing new roofs and providing heating fuel. 

“This winter our campaign in Jordan is providing warmth and long-term protection to refugee families by installing new roofs and offering a month’s supply of heating fuel, all the while generating temporary jobs for construction workers from the camp,” said Nisreen Abu Al Sheikh, UPA Programs Manager in Jordan.

UPA’s work in Jordan dates to 2015, partnering with a number of local organizations who share the common goal of empowering Palestinian refugees. 

“We are very happy about our partnership with UPA, which has left a positive impact since it began supporting the Hittin camp,” said Salah El Nahalin, president of the Hittin Camp Social Services Committee. 

Khader Al’absi, secretary general of the Gaza Sports Club in the Gaza camp echoed a similar view, “the support UPA provides is critical,” he said. “We hope to sustain and expand our services to the community through our partnership with UPA,” he added.

UPA’s work in Jordan includes building the capacity of local medical clinics, supporting people with disabilities, improving local infrastructure, and providing emergency relief such as our annual winter and Ramadan campaigns in underserved refugee camps. Most recently, UPA expanded the Mahmoud Darwish Scholarship Fund to support the higher education of promising young Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

Statistics from UNWRA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.