Rent and housing relief for Gaza + 2 new staff members!
We have an exciting announcement. The Gaza Emergency Relief Fund is ramping up to do more rehabilitation and construction. Our goal is to use your donations to build customized quality housing for the most marginalized families as we work with them to help them find sustainable ways to earn a living despite the blockade. Big challenges.
Two new team members are joining Rebuilding Alliance: Site Engineer Heba El Khozondar and Gaza Architect / Harvard Fellow Salem Al Qudwa.
Site Engineer Heba El Khozondar is a graduate of the Islamic University of Gaza with 10 years of experience as an architectural engineer. Working with RA’s Non-Governmental Partners, she will meet with families in need to develop plans to fix or improve their homes, and participate in the bidding process to choose an acceptable contractor, and inspect construction.
Architectural Engineer Salem Al Qudwa holds B.Arch and M.Arch from the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) in Palestine (2003, 2013), and a Phd in Design from Oxford School of Architecture in England (2019). He is currently a Harvard Fellow in Conflict and Peace at the Religion and Public Life program program in Harvard Divinity School which describes him as, “An award-winning architect and university lecturer, Salem explores everyday architecture as a resource for positive social trnsformation. His project at Harvard is to design and articulate a model for the reconstruction of communities devastated by conflict. By recognizing the agency and social responsibility of architects, he wants to confront conventional attitudes surrounding residential reconstruction in Gaza by creating a nurturing and safe environment for women and children, and empowering communities.” He’s bringing his insight to Rebuilding Alliance as a program advisor.
Here’s what we’ve completed in the last 4 months, since my last report:
In June we paid off the 80k debt incurred when RA’s four NGO partners delivered emergency supplies during the bombings in May. When they saw families hiking through the dark to take refuge in UN schools, we knew how to help and we trusted that many people would step up to donate. Store managers trusted that RA would make good on our pay-forward promise, and we did.
Housing and rent relief were our priorities for the summer as families ungently needed to recover from the damages of the bombings in May. Sadly, one housing rehabilitation remains incomplete because prices skyrocketed in the middle of the project when Israel closed the border, preventing the arrival of construction materials including the windows we were waiting for. We hope to address this very soon as the borders are open now (though our partners report that construction materials are still expensive). Three of our NGO partners completed the following work for 12 families:
Women Programs Center Rafah:
The Women Program Center — Rafah was able to build a small new house (645 sq. feet) for $5000. Rania, a mother of two whose husband is ill, was nearly homeless. Now they have a home with a bathroom, indoor plumbing, electricity, tiled flooring, and a backup generator. That said, hers is the house that is not yet finished. Rania says that her children are happy. The bathroom allows them to have a bath to cool down in hot weather, and the generator installed means they won't be scared of the dark when the power goes out. We look forward to completing Rania's house soon.
Soon after the bombings, a masjed (mosque) in Wales reached out to us to ask if we could specifically help families whose homes were damage by bombing. With thanks to them, our partners decided to focus on families in the north--the area hardest hit.
Al Basma Club for the Disabled:
ABCD helped five families living in Jabalya Refugee Camp. Three families now have proper kitchens and bathrooms. One family received a month’s rent relief. Another received food, milk, and diapers for their children.
ABCD also had issues with supplies getting more expensive after the border closed, but the contractors in the project lowered their fees to help these two families. The contractors offered this without being asked by ABCD. ABCD also did their best to find affordable vendors.
A young man from one of the families was rejected by his fiancee’s father because of his disability and the poor state of his home that was hit by shrapnel. However, after ABCD helped him rehabilitate his home, his father-in-law approved the wedding, and the couple were married on September 29th. Mr. Eid, ABCD’S Executive Director, was invited to the wedding and sent us a video of the men dancing!
Youth Vision Society:
YVS helped six families whose windows were blown out. Rehabilitation varied from window repair to kitchen and bathroom renovations. One family also received a month’s rent relief.
Father of three, Ibrahim, said, "Having dilapidated windows made my home insecure and affected everyone in my home, especially in winter time. Now they are fixed up, I feel that I'm well prepared to welcome the winter with a warm heart."
Thank you so much for helping Gaza families heal and rebuild their lives. We're honored that you care about them and keep them in your hearts.
