Humanitarian Assistance
Medical Aid for Palestine has attempted to develop projects that are sensitive to both the current and potential future needs of Palestinians in the Middle East and elsewhere. In keeping with this philosophy, our activities are changing with the evolving needs of Palestinians. Our initial activities focused on emergency humanitarian and relief projects. During the 1990’s MAP recognized and responded to Palestinian aspirations for development projects that would enhance the infrastructure of Palestinian health care, thus maximizing the effectiveness, coordination and efficiency of the health system and bringing tangible sustainable benefits for future generations of Palestinians.
Our program directly addresses the health needs of Palestinians while boosting the overall development of local Palestinian businesses and the individuals they employ, through its emphasis on a local procurement policy and projects that promote employment opportunities. MAP projects also promote cooperation between non-governmental groups, furthering overall Palestinian development objectives and contributing to the establishment of the structures necessary in an independent state.
Playgrounds for the Palestinian Children
As playgrounds are rare in Palestine, we have initiated a program of playground building for Gaza, West Bank and south Lebanon in villages and refugee camps, close to schools or inside nurseries. Throughout the years, we managed with the collaboration of Playground Builders in Vancouver to establish more than 20 playgrounds where children can play safely.
Pre-School Education for Gaza Children
This project aimed to improve scholar performance of kids aged between 4 to 6 in northern Gaza by modernizing and readapting 10 kindergartens and establishing healthy behaviors among children, parents and teachers. Specifically, this project aimed to:
- provide a safe, stimulating and healthy space where girls and boys can play and learn.
- To improve parents trust in the infrastructures and staff of the ten targeted kindergartens
- Children, parents and teachers adopts healthy behaviors which will reduce contamination and infection risks in the modernized and readapted kindergartens
More than 750 girls and 750 boys were benefited directly from this project in northern Gaza, at a cost of $95,000.
Building of a Cultural Village in the Gaza Strip
This project aimed to revitalize and teach values and cultural practices of the Palestinian heritage to vulnerable population close to Beit Lahya (Izbat Hanoun, Jaabalia, Bedouin Village and Izbat Beit Hanoun Tours) by building a cultural village. It includes a Women Centre, a library, a craft room, a ball and singingroom, an administrative center, a cafeteria, a playground and a park. This project was financed by UNDP and UNICEF. Medical Aid for Palestine helps this project by installing a playground and park at a cost of $20 000.
The Silwan Athletic Club
The Silwan Athletic Club is a community club serving the needs of the neighborhood of Silwan, East Jerusalem. This club was established in 1965 as an athletic one, but has rapidly transformed to meet the needs of an endangered community. We aim to actively contribute to the development of our community in Silwan and in Jerusalem. We do this through putting emphasis on supporting our youth and women, and helping them to achieve their full potential. We also aim to address the needs and desires of the community as a whole, especially in the areas of sports and the preservation and development of cultural knowledge and identity. Specific projects that we organize are soccer leagues for various age groups, boy scouts and girl scouts clubs, after-school educational courses, cultural events and festivals, summer camps for children, and much more.
Emergency Assistance for Gaza and Hebron
In December 1992, MAP and Development and Peace made an urgent appeal for assistance to the Canadian International development Agency-International Humanitarian Assistance Division (CIDA-IHA), The request was in response to appeals from health care facilities in the Gaza Strip and the Hebron area who were suffering dramatic shortages in medical material and supplies. These shortages were due to an increase in the frequency and intensity of conflicts and the inevitable increase in casualties, combined with the imposition of prolonged curfews. The project was approved in March 1993, The assistance transcends factionalism and ideological or political outlooks in order to concentrate on those agencies that provide the most effective and critical health services in Gaza and Hebron. Approximately 60% of the funds went to Gaza; the remaining 40% went to Hebron.