The psychosocial need in Gaza is immense – FCA launches programme to provide support to children amid war
Civilians in Gaza have been living in the midst of war for a year. As part of its new regional emergency relief operation, Finn Church Aid is launching a programme in Gaza that will reach out specifically to traumatised children and children with disabilities caused by the war, as well as the adults around them.
Finn Church Aid (FCA) will start a humanitarian assistance operation in Gaza. The work is part of FCA’s new regional operation to help those affected by the Middle East crisis. It focuses on education in emergencies and psychosocial support for those affected by the difficult humanitarian situation in Gaza.
FCA has allocated 195.000 euros from its Disaster Fund for this work.
“While the world is currently focused on the escalating conflict in Lebanon, the situation in Gaza has not eased,” says FCA Country Director Sabina Bergholm.
“The needs of children and students in Gaza are at their most critical regarding humanitarian assistance. For example, food and medicine are needed in Gaza, but also psychosocial support for mental health and education for children who have been out of school for a year.”
Finn Church Aid will carry out the work together with its partner organisations in the Palestinian territories. The partners are the Latin Patriarchate in Gaza City, the Palestinian Counselling Center (PCC), and International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). Finn Church Aid has been working in the Palestinian Territories since 2012.
The war has caused massive destruction
FCA’s work in Gaza will improve the protection of children living in the region in the midst of war. The aim is to enable more children to participate in school activities and to receive support to deal with their trauma. The work will also support children who have been traumatised by the war.
“It is imperative that we address the psychosocial distress of children and the adults around them. The Gazans have been living in fear for a year in the midst of war, and there are children in the region who have been severely traumatised,” says Bergholm.
The education situation in Gaza is currently very challenging. Formal education has not been able to take place at all over the past year due to the circumstances.
More than 90% of schools in Gaza have been damaged during the year-long war. Of the children under ten years old, 650,000 have lost a full school year. Israeli bombing has destroyed hospitals, schools and churches where people have sought refuge in their distress. Teachers have also been killed in numerous attacks on civilian targets.
A temporary school is being set up in Gaza City in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where FCA and its partners provide regular supplementary and remedial education to around 250 children. In central Gaza, mental health and psychosocial support activities will be organised in the Al-Bureij refugee camp for 400 children with disabilities caused by the war and their caregivers.
In addition, 1,200 children will benefit from psychosocial support and educational activities organised across Gaza. The programme also reaches out to Gaza teachers, who are offered psychosocial support and the opportunity to participate in training sessions on teaching in crisis situations.
“The war will end in time, and then the massive reconstruction work will begin. Without education, the future for Gazans does not look good. It is imperative to invest in education now, even though there are many other needs in the region,” says Bergholm.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza is alarming
The situation in Gaza escalated a year ago when Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement that controls the Gaza Strip, launched terrorist attacks on the Israeli side as part of a long-running conflict. Some 1,200 people were killed in the attacks and 251 hostages were taken by Hamas. The Israeli state responded to the terrorist attacks with direct military action in the Gaza Strip, which has now been ongoing for a year.
At present, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is alarming. The war in Gaza has killed 40.000 civilians and injured nearly 100.000. More than 11.000 of the dead are children. Israel is not allowing enough humanitarian aid into Gaza, resulting in a constant shortage of medicines, food, electricity and water.
The disaster in Gaza has also contributed to the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in other Palestinian territories. Finn Church Aid has had projects in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2012 and an office since 2016.
War continues to spill over into neighbouring countries, most recently deep into Lebanon, where up to a million civilians have fled bombardments inside the country and across the borders into neighbouring Syria. Finn Church Aid is also supporting those fleeing the crisis in Lebanon to Syria.
Interview requests and further information:
Country Director Sabina Bergholm, +358 40 669 3930, sabina.bergholm@kua.fi