Hand in Hand with Rotary in Gaza

Update: Since this project began the Israel-Gaza conflict has made the situation even worse and our help even more important... please pledge whatever you can and/or share this Crowdfunder page.

Young men and women in Gaza are determined with Rotary to support the marginalised communities in their area with help and guidance through the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Until now they have been working and funding this work on their own as there is minimal support from any official groups. The population of Gaza is 2 million people, but 80% of these rely on humanitarian assistance.

The Challenge at Hand

By April of this year there had already been circa 80,000 COVID cases, this number is currently climbing at over 1,600 per day and there have been over 660 deaths. The marginalised communities find there is little or no opportunity to be included in the vaccination rollout programme.

 With a very poor economic situation;

• 46% unemployment rate; 
• average wage is circa $9.
• a poverty rate for 15-29 year olds of 57%; 
• suicide rates in young people increasing to over 80 a month; 

the communities are in desperate need to have access to support, information, and PPE (sanitisers, facemasks, etc.) 

What We Are Doing: 

Through discussions with a Gazan Rotary Peace Fellow, studying at the Rotary Peace Centre, University of Bradford, we, in the Rotary Global Hub, were moved on hearing of the plight of these people and decided to help fund the delivery of an initial programme of Awareness Workshops through a programme called ‘Hand in Hand with Rotary’. 

Our goals are to fund workshops for 250 families to raise the community awareness in terms of being safe from the COVID-19 virus: dealing with the community environment and advising safe practices in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Whilst at the same time we hope to alleviate some of the food poverty that many families find themselves in because of the lack of work or very poor income streams.

The area that needs support is a difficult environment to work in but we, in Rotary, use our international links to pass funds to areas that need support. For this project we will transfer the money from a UK based Rotary Club to a Rotary Club in Cairo who will then, through their communication channels, supply goods into Gaza to the young men and women working directly with the communities.

Why We Are Crowdfunding:

The programme is aimed at an initial target of 250 families through multiple workshops and our appeal is hoping that donations will be received in the form of sponsorships for Food packs, Hygiene kits, a combination of both or even for the sponsorship of Awareness Days. With greater support we could do so much more.

May we thank you for your time in considering our appeal, we hope that we will soon be making a significant impact to people that so desperately need help.

Want to know more about Rotary:

You can find out more about us and the Rotary Global Hub by clicking here