Gaza Emergency Relief Fund

Thank you for your support. We’re honored to hold your trust. We were humbled when the World Food Programme (WFP) chose us for their first hot meals program in Gaza. Since the end of November, our program has transformed into a hot meals program, providing over 40,000 hot meals a day, a long way from the 4000 hot meals our NGO partners were delivering in the early days of the war. 

Background: Need for Hot Meals

The war in Gaza caused mass displacement and widespread destruction. People have lost homes and any remaining sources of income. There's an acute shortage of food and prices of food have skyrocketed. All this has contributed to pervading hunger and starvation in Gaza. Providing food staples to displaced families did not make sense as displaced families could not cook them. We asked our NGO partners to cook and provide hot meals to displaced families. 

Partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP)

When the World Food Programme reached out to us with an offer to provide flour, Rebuilding Alliance (RA), proposed community-based baking, organized at multiple locations by our five Non-Governmental CBO Partners and their innovative staff. RA noted that baking bread and preparing meals near their homes — be it an overcrowded house or in a tent — for extended family and neighbors would ensure local food deliveries, help families regain control over their own lives, and be safer than standing in endless lines. 

Empowering Local Community Members through Community-based Kitchens:

Due to the safety concerns, movement of people and goods is limited. Fuel shortages have further exacerbated the situation, affecting overall mobility — delivery of commodities, services, and meals. Because of these difficulties, our NGO partners couldn't travel to distant areas and deliver hot meals. 

• In light of the circumstances, we implemented a unique strategy where each community-based partner will be running their kitchens and also overseeing neighborhood kitchens set up in different neighborhoods.  

• In keeping with our commitment to the empowerment of the local community and talent development, we have encouraged local community members to set up kitchens, buy clay ovens, and cook for the displaced families living in their neighborhoods. Each neighborhood kitchen can cook 300 and more hot meals and bread.

Sourcing Food Supplies 

The World Food Programme (WFP) has been providing basic supplies such as flour, rice, pasta, beans, chickpeas, lentils, canned food including vegetables and meat, energy biscuits, and tomato paste. Our teams, NGO partners, and neighborhood chefs find and purchase necessities such as potable water, vegetables, meat, and wood from the local market. 

Food Deliveries to the North

The challenging situation of heightened conflict and control in the northern region has made the direct delivery of food impossible. Food trucks are rarely allowed to cross to the North. 

• Despite these obstacles, one of our NGO partners which is located in Gaza City is procuring supplies in the open market and producing and delivering thousands of hot meals per day. Though our efforts are constrained by limited resources, little to no communication, and rising expenses due to increasing food prices, our partner NGO is doing its best.
• We have also partnered with a local restaurant which is providing hot meals three times a week to families taking refuge in the two Churches. 

Rapid Growth despite significant challenges

The hot meals program has experienced extraordinary growth. 

• Our NGO partners have been significantly expanding capabilities to meet the rapidly growing demand in a remarkably short period–constantly increasing the number of meals despite the challenges.  
• The challenges were and are significant. RA’s CBO Partners have been working during bombardment, without cooking gas, with limited mobility due to the lack of fuel — facing deepening food shortages. Prices of all food items have skyrocketed, leading to constant changes in the budget.
• Our teams in Gaza increased production to over 40,000 hot meals per day, a long way from the 4000 daily meals they prepared four days a week in the early days of the war.  

Thank you for your generous support that has made all this work possible. 

Thank you for all the support and concern you have shown for families in Gaza since the war started. Hundreds of new supporters joined this cause while older supporters persevered. Your support helped displaced families in Gaza in so many ways. In light of the circumstances and needs of the Gaza community, our program has transformed mainly into a hot meals program. In partnership with the World Food Programme, and with your generosity, our teams in Gaza are serving over 40,000 hot meals per day.

Because there’s a lot to report on, I have divided the report into two parts. Please find Part 1 below.

Immediate Response to October 7th War

With your support, Rebuilding Alliance and our partner Non-Governmental Organizations responded immediately to the crisis and provided humanitarian aid to Palestinian families in need, saving lives and preventing further suffering. 

• RA started with the provision of food staples and hygiene supplies to families taking shelter in their relative’s homes. 
• Water and baskets of fresh vegetables were also distributed. 
• We expanded our work in accordance with the needs of the community in tune with the funds generated. 
• Other items that have been provided to displaced families include blankets, sheets, mattresses, lice shampoo, sanitizers, feminine hygiene products, solar lights, diapers for children, supplies for infants including special milk formula, needles for the sick, and gowns for the medical staff at the hospital. 

Working with our NGO partners in Gaza

For the first three months, we worked with our four long-term Non-Governmental Org partners in Gaza. These are: Women Programs Center-Rafah (WPC-R); El Amal Rehabilitation Society-Rafah (ERS); Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD), and Youth Vision Society (YVS). 

Because our partners and coordinators are well-placed in the community, they have the advantage of knowing exactly the needs of families and responding exactly to them. A three-month-old baby who had a cardiac condition needed a special type of milk. His family escaped from the north. The baby was starving because the family couldn't afford the milk. He was provided special baby formula at the Women Programs Center-Rafah. 

Please follow the details of the relief work carried out by all four partner NGOs in the first month of the war.  

• Women Programs Center-Rafah

The Women Programs Center, located in Rafah, provided aid to displaced families taking shelter in UNRWA schools and in their relative's homes. WPC-R delivered the following: 

1. 350 Food Parcels 
2. 350 Hygiene kits given at UNRWA schools containing 20 boxes of disposable gloves; 7 boxes of face masks; 15 boxes of sanitizers; and 135 liters of Alcohol
3. 350 Vegetable Baskets
4. 200 Packets of Diapers for children
5. 100 pieces of clothing for women (praying clothes, underclothes, pants, personal items)
6. 6. 150 mattresses, pillows, and blankets
7. 100 sketchbooks and colors for the kids in the UNRWA schools
8. 6 baby bags containing clothes, diapers, milk, soothers

WPC-R shared that 100 women taking shelter in a school, Shaboura Camp, Rafah, had not changed in ten days as they needed a bathroom and clean clothes. They were grateful for new clothes. A woman shared her displacement journey from Gaza City to Rafah: “We saw death with our own eyes. By God, we were afraid that we would die. We left [our houses] with what was on us. May God bless you for the help.”

•  El Amal Rehabilitation Society-Rafah

 The El Amal Rehabilitation Society-Rafah (ERS) provided aid to families who came from the north of Gaza and Gaza City and also to the families in Rafah that were affected by war. ERS organized a pick-up of food boxes at a local store, easing the financial burdens of families affected by the war. Fearing bombing, only 50 families were allowed to come to the store a day to avoid overcrowding to ensure their safety.

1. 457 Food Parcels
2. Hygiene kits and skin ointments for children
3. 300 bottles of lice shampoo
4. 1153 pieces of clothing for 384 families
5. 500 sanitizers
6. 800 gowns for the staff of Abu Yousef Al Najar Hospital, Rafah 

• Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD)

The Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD) was also displaced. They moved to the central region in Deir al-Balah. Eid, Head of ABCD, enlisted some friends in Deir al-Balah and formed committees to provide relief items to families taking shelter in schools, playgrounds, and relatives' homes. These include the areas of the Rodolphe Filter School, Deir Al-Balah Primary School, Al-Durra Stadium, Deir Al-Balah Services Club, and Deir Camp. Deir al-Balah is densely populated and filled with displaced families. In addition, a board member of Al-Basma carried out the relief work in the Khan Yunis area. ABCD provided the following items:

1. 150 Vegetable baskets
2. 250 food vouchers
3. 3500 rice meals
4. 4800 water bottles
5. 500 Solar lights
6. 200 Empty plastic water gallons with a tap
7. 30 bags of flour 

Eid, head of ABCD, shared that three days before the war, he had sold his car. This enabled him to pay most of the suppliers in cash.  Because he was new to the area, suppliers refused to work on credit. 

• Youth Vision Society (YVS)

The Youth Vision Society (YVS) stayed in the North, in Gaza City to serve thousands of families who remained behind. We did not hear from them for a long time and were relieved when we finally heard from them. The lack of communication and resources did not put a dent in their commitment to help their local community. 

1. 320 food boxes 
2. 500 plastic tarps 

Helping others despite the challenges

Two CBO Partners and their staff are coping with forced relocation, one evacuating from the North and one choosing to stay in the North.  Many members of RA's teams have lost their homes and are themselves in temporary shelter with family members. Some have lost next of kin in the bombings. All team members who have homes or offices have taken-in families who needed temporary shelter.  

Despite these challenges, our partner NGOs and staff continue to serve their community and put the needs of others before theirs. We honor their bravery and commitment to their community. 

• All NGO partners told us that they are surrounded by danger and fear that the bombing can target them at any time. 
• Lack of transportation and fuel makes it difficult to carry out the relief work. Often they have to use the donkey carts for transportation. 
• Because of the extraordinary situation, sketchy communication, and intermittent shutdowns of the internet, partners have difficulty in sharing their reports. 

Growing Needs

Given the scale of destruction and an extreme shortage of resources, the need is growing with each passing day. One partner NGO told us that they need a budget equal to a country to meet the needs of the community. As a dozen countries, including the United States, suspend funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), our program becomes more essential than ever.

We are thankful to you. Your contribution made it possible for us to respond to the October 7 War and carry out the critical work. We were pleasantly surprised when the World Food Program chose us for their first hot meals program in Gaza. Since the last week of November, our program has transformed into a hot meals program. 

Read more about our hot meals program in the second part of this report.