DRAWINGS FOR PEACE
15 April 2015
As part of its ongoing efforts to provide psychosocial recovery activities to Gaza’s children, UNRWA this week organized a recreational event for 26 children from two Agency-run Collective Centres in Gaza city. The children went on a field trip to the UNRWA Gaza Field Office (GFO) where they engaged in painting a mural on one of the compound’s walls. UNRWA partnered with two local artists who designed the mural and spoke with the girls and boys about its meaning which carries symbols of peace, equality and humanity. The 26 little artists also had the opportunity to meet the UNRWA Director of Operations, Mr. Robert Turner. After the painting, they enjoyed some lunch and sweets in the UNRWA Gaza Field Office garden.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 100 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications & Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
Milina Shahin
Public Information Officer – Gaza Field Office
Mobile:
+972 599 609 485
Office:
+972 8 2887213
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Armed conflict, Children, Education and culture, Gaza Strip, Internally displaced persons
Publication Date: 15/04/2015