By Shirabe Yamada | Executive Director, Sunbula
We want to share the latest from our Gaza partners since the ceasefire took effect in January. Both organizations have returned to their original locations in Gaza City, and are working to restart and rebuild their work while continuing to address the extreme humanitarian situation caused by the genocidal war.
ATFALUNA SOCIETY
Atfaluna is working to scale up their operation in order to serve more beneficiaries in more affected areas. They have recently rented a building in Gaza City because their own building, which, prior to the war encompassed a school for deaf children, an audiology unit, and craft workshops and a retail shop, has been destroyed. While rehabilitating their building, the rented premise will house the craft production space, a shop, service provisions such as audiology and education, and administration.
Atfaluna is working to expand their core services to the deaf people across Gaza, such as the audiology, speech therapy, and provision and maintenance of hearing aids. Atfaluna also runs 10 learning spaces for students across the Strip, and is working to double that number.
In addition, Atfaluna has been operating a community kitchen in Deir Al-Balah, which serves daily hot meals prepared by a chef with hearing disability to the families in the middle area. They are now planning to open a new community kitchen in Gaza City.
SULAFA EMBROIDERY CENTRE
Sulafa staff members have recently visited Sulafa's original location in Gaza City after returning from their displacement in the middle area. While the building itself is still standing, the storage area was destroyed in the bombings and all the craft materials like fabric and threads have been lost. Sulafa is now in search of local merchants who may still have materials needed for restarting their embroidery production.
The Sulafa team is also trying to locate their artisans, who, prior to the war, were working in embroidery and sewing through the network of women's centers across the Strip. They learned that 20 of the women, including some of their best embroiderers, had been killed. Some of the women were killed when their entire families were wiped out in the attacks. Whereabouts of many women remain unknown.
WHAT THEY NEED NOW
Atfaluna staff tell us that their most pressing needs currently are the education programs, child protection and psychosocial support, which aim to give children a sense of normacy.
Sulafa staff say that every family in Gaza has been devastated by death, injury, imprisonment of their loved ones. Living in a tent or ruins of their former home, their challenges are compounded by the lack of income.
Through your donation, we have been able to provide direct cash assistance to more than 400 women through Sulafa, and funded the education and psychosocial activities of Atfaluna. Thank you again for your generocity and continued support.
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By Shirabe Yamada | Executive Director, Sunbula
By Shirabe Yamada | Executive Director, Sunbula
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