Family Guided Construction in Gaza

Problem

The Gaza Strip is one of the world's most densely populated areas. Thousands of homes are of marginal construction with poor roofing & sanitation. Overcrowding is linked to many social and health issues including domestic violence, a lack of education, and unhygienic conditions. Land upon which to construct homes in Gaza is limited, necessitating costly vertical building additions. Without skilled labor, construction often falls short of basic building code and safety standards. The illegal Israeli blockade compounds these problems as construction materials and jobs are lacking, resulting in extreme poverty. Yet there is a way forward.

Solution

Help implement low-cost housing solutions for Gazan families in poor, unstable communities by 1) improving access to water & hygienic sanitation facilities, 2) decreasing overcrowding through structural changes to add upstairs apartments, & 3) upgrading to provide proper heating & ventilation. These twenty families were carefully chosen for this participatory re-design of their homes based on in-person visits to assess their needs and the structural soundness of their homes. Choose your giving level and help families all over Gaza live in safer and healthier homes.

Maher’s Family

Maher Q. lives in the northern Gaza Strip with his two wives, eldery mother, and three children. His first wife is disabled and has limited mobility. The home needs to be renovated to not only accommodate her disability, but to be a comfortable, healthy environment for the entire family. The kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms must be renovated as they are not livable.

Adnan’s Family

Adnan T. lives with his wife and children in Al Shati (Beach) camp, the most densely populated refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, indeed in the world. Mr. Adnan lost his business and has been unable to work due to Gaza’s deteriorating economy as well as his health issues. After living in a single room in his parent’s home, Mr. Adnan's family was able to purchase this tiny home. It does not meet the family’s needs however as the boys and girls share a room together. The kitchen and bathrooms also need completion. The family hopes to expand their home to accommodate everyone, and provide a space for the sons to live with their families when they marry. 

Hamdan’s Family

Hamdan A. lives with his wife, mother, and eight children. The family live in Al Hashashin, a small village northwest of Rafah. This area is remote and has no businesses or schools. Mr. Hamdan is unemployed and relies on the U.N. and the Ministry of Social Development for financial support. The entire family lives, studies, plays, and sleeps in one room. Mr. Hamdan hopes to have at least one other room for the children to sleep in or to give his eldery mother a quiet place to stay.

Salem’s Family

Salem O. lives with his wife and nine children in a small 63 sq.m. (678 sq.ft.) room in the southern part of Gaza. Mr. O. is in poor health and unable to work. There is no privacy between the boys and girls in the family. The family hope to expand their home by adding at least one other room so the boys and girls will have seperate quarters.

Choose your giving level

$10: 10 cement blocks for foundation of a home

$40: Buy a stainless steel kitchen sink

$80: Buys and installs a shower grab rail for disabled person

$150: Buys and installs one door 

$200: Plaster a room/Paints a room

$600: Constructs a staircase/ Constructs 4 columns of a room that supplies and casts reinforced concrete/ Constructs 4 beams, each beam has (0.40*0.25*3.5m).

$1500: Constructs the concrete slab for an additional floor, including all fixtures needed to supply on site. 

$2000: Renovates and fully equips a  kitchen, including tiling its floor and walls(until height 2m),plumbing works of black fixtures, and white fixtures of  kitchen worktop, sink, and water mixer. 

$5000: This amount will cover the costs of adding an extension, vertically or horizontally to the home. Extension includes: 

• Constructing stairs

• Constructing an additional room which includes a window, door, metal roof, finishing works (plastering, painting, and tiling)

Sponsors will have the option of adding a personalized plaque to the home in the name of their family or a loved one 

$10,000: This is our highest giving level and covers the costs of an extension to the home in addition to renovating the existing home. Extension and renovations include: 

• Constructing stairs

• Constructing an additional room which includes a window, door, metal roof, finishing works (plastering, painting, and tiling)

• Renovation of existing bathroom

• Renovation of existing kitchen

Sponsors will have the option of adding a personalized plaque to the home in the name of their family or a loved one.