JORDANIAN ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE FOOD ASSISTANCE FOR PALESTINE REFUGEE FAMILIES IN GAZA
11 July 2016
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On 3 July 2016 UNRWA, with the support from Tkiyet Um Ali organization (TUA) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization for Relief and Development (JHC), was able to distribute frozen meat to approximately 4,200 Palestine refugees across the Gaza Strip.
The distribution took place in seven of the Agency's 12 Distribution Centres in Gaza and benefited large refugee families (consisting of seven members and more) belonging to the UNRWA Social Safety Net Programme (abject poor beneficiaries, i.e. those households living with an income below US$ 1.5 per person per day). Every family received 6.1 kilogramme of frozen meat.
“I wasn’t able to buy a rich meal for my family to celebrate the breaking of the fasting during Ramadan, especially because meat is very expensive,” commented 40-year old Palestine refugee Ammar Jarour, a father of five children from eastern Gaza city. “With this donation, my family and I will be able to have a good meal".
Eligible families were asked to come and collect their parcel at the nearest Distribution Centre. For those unable to come, UNRWA sent a staff member to their homes to guarantee that all those who were eligible received the donation, explained Bassam El Sharif, the UNRWA Relief and Social Services area coordinator responsible for East Gaza.
TUA was founded in 2002 by Princess Haya of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The organization seeks to serve as a model for hunger and relief initiatives across the region. JHCO, established in 1990 as a multi-functional relief and humanitarian foundation, has a long history of providing UNRWA with in-kind donations and of providing support to other organizations seeking to help Palestine refugees.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall, projected for 2016 to stand at US$ 74 million. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance .
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
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
Najwa Sheikh Ahmad
Acting Public Information Officer – Gaza Field Office
Mobile:
+972 597 920 542
Office:
+972 8 2887 488
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Jordan
Subject: Assistance, Food, Gaza Strip, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 11/07/2016