FAR'A REFUGEE CAMP

Far'a camp was established in 1949 on 255 dunums in the foothills of the Jordan Valley near the Far'a spring. The camp is 17 kilometers northeast of Nablus. In November 1998, the camp came under Palestinian Authority control in "zone A" following the signing of the Wye River Memorandum.

Far'a is one of the few camps in the West Bank which UNRWA is able to supply water to by pumping from the nearby spring.

Most of the camp residents work in the agricultural sector and some depend on work in the Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley.

In 1996 UNRWA constructed and equipped two model schools in the camp, with contributions from the European Union, to improve educational facilities for the refugee children;

As part of the Agency's efforts to alleviate poverty in the camp, about 24 youths from poor families were provided with skills-training/apprenticeships in marketable skills and one family was given a grant to establish an income generation activity.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Registered Refugee Population: 7244.
• Special hardship cases: 213 families.
• Number of families receiving emergency food rations: 863.
• Number of pupils: Male: 892, Female: 902