Visit October 2022

 

October brought the three of us to Gaza again. This time was unique as both of our ladies Sabah and Wasel had daughters who were to deliver babies when we were there. So we made plan in case either one had to be absent. Wasel’s daughter Maha had a little boy the second day the 26^th. and the mother and child are fine. Sabah’s daughter Ream had her baby the 30^th. a little girl and again both of them are fine. I talked to both grandmothers after the births and they were so proud and relieved to have the little ones safely among them.

The first day we visited four families and had our meeting with Sabah as usual. She shared some good news in that perhaps another 4,000 men may have the possibility to go to work in Israel. If so it will put food on the table for 4,000 families. 

For months we wanted to thank the two communities the parish priest and the Missionaries of Charity where we stay when we are in Gaza by inviting them to a picnic on the beach. Finally it was realized on the afternoon of the 25^th. and our picnic was delicious due to the good judgment and planning of Sabah and Sami our driver. The weather was delightful.

The second day there we started with visiting some of the families whose homes we had renovated over the last few years. We wanted to see how they are doing. Again we saw four families and decided to stay and to visit with them longer than we usually do. They all received us with joy. Only one mother of the family was not clean and orderly. In one family the father was painting a wall and their situation seemed better. They were definitely proud of their home. In the last family the father had had his leg amputated above the knee and was finding it difficult to have the surgery to get a new artificial leg. He was dealing with depression. Still their home was clean and the rest of the family seemed happy. From time to time these families still receive food or medicine from us when it is needed so we keep in touch with them.

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Visit September 2022

 

                 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, September 13 and 14, Sister Susan, Sister Frantiska, and Fr. George visited four preschools supported by the Gaza Project and a fifth preschool that will now receive renovation and development help. The Gaza Project has helped the El Arabia preschool located in the Beit Hanoun area in the north for many years.  Time has taken its toll on the playground roof, a metal one that blocks too much light.  The proposal is for a new heavy-duty roof that will allow light to enter without the heat.  The Interior classroom walls need sealing and paint, and the bathroom and kitchen roof needs fixing. Children were active and happy, and an artist painting wall murals shared that he had attended the preschool as a child.   

The group returned to Zakhar preschool to see the returning students in their renovated school.  The school’s improvements were beautiful.  We enjoyed watching the 60 children at work in their classes and relishing their new indoor play area with a carpet of artificial grass.  The teachers were as happy as the children.

At Sabah’s office, we discussed the Project’s subsidizing of school fees for those who have little income.  We all agreed that a minimal contribution from every family provides a good faith investment in the effort.  Our goal is to assure the salaries of the teachers from the fees we help to pay for. We continue to fund the food program that started last week. Sabah showed us a sturdy backpack that was one of 200 purchased for students, an earlier request now fulfilled. She had shopped at numerous stores and found a fantastic price.  The team also discussed the renovation of the new school at Beit Hanoun.  We also unloaded three tightly packed suitcases of clothes.  Sister Frantiska delivers some donated clothes for children and adults of all ages when we come to Gaza.

On Wednesday, we visited two preschools in the Middle camps. The first two we have been helping for some years that of the Barham Tuyour El Sham and the Mosaddar preschool.  At the Barham, we met with the staff and discussed an additional classroom and bathroom on the second floor.  The Barham School has two new teachers and Sister Susan encouraged their participation in minicourses for preschool teachers and the director agreed. Mosaddar School is well established, and the team agreed to help its students with school supplies.  We had the unique opportunity to visit a Bedouin family that lived close to the school.  They were happy to see Sister Susan and the school director.  The family had 25 adults and 35 children.  They continued to cook over an open fire and eat together in Bedouin fashion.  This large family lives in multiple dwellings on a single compound.  

The final stop before returning to Jerusalem was at Beit Hanoun.  The director reviewed the school’s needs with the team.  Sabah will work with MECA to coordinate the renovation of the building including new walls, per the permit requirements, rather than partitions. The immediate need is to add shelves to the kitchen and take down the old bathroom structure and build a new one in a better location. This we will begin doing soon.

Additional good news. There are now 15,000 Palestinians from Gaza working in Israel, and the Israeli government foresees increasing that number to 20,000.  God bless you all.

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Visit August 2022

 

Project’s Website:

Sr. Susan, Sr. Frantiska, and Fr. George visited three preschools and two recently renovated homes on August 29 and 30.  Sabah, who had recovered from a second, severe bout of COVID, led us on the visits.  The first preschool was called Shamsy Ed’da School.  It was in a very poor area within the eye-sight of farmland where most of the parents worked. In the past, Sabah had worked with the director, a university-trained preschool administrator.  This school also helped Sabah with food distribution and medical aid programs.  The school needs new bathrooms, a storage shed, a counter in the kitchen, an artificial lawn (too much sand tracked in), and a canopy for the playground.  

The second proposed school had two small classrooms on an upper floor, a challenging staircase, and dilapidated bathrooms.  We felt there were too many major needs.  The school had 150 preschoolers in the past—too many for the space. We questioned if this school follows the local preschool guidelines.

The two renovated homes with eight and six children had multiple improvements: a new bathroom, kitchen improvements, newly tiled floors, windows, and painted walls. The children were happy.  The parents of the family with six children said that their kids no longer spend all their time outside on the street because they have a real home with more space inside to play.

We cut our visit a little short on Tuesday to allow Sa bah more time to rest.  Through Sami, our driver and helper, she had kept abreast of renovations and other work even while ill.  We pray for her continued recovery. Wasel our social worker lost her husband two weeks ago so these two women have had a difficult summer.

 

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May 2022 visit

 

MAY 25, 2022 VISIT

Br. Lorenzo, Sr. Frantiska and I went down for the day and we had two goals in mind. Having some money left over from the academic year, we wanted to see about sponsoring summer camps this summer. We also wanted to visit a home that was newly renovated and chose another one to be done in July. 

We started our visit to the two homes. We were very pleased with the home which was renovated. The family members were all smiles. The other home was next door to this home. It was in very bad condition and had only two small rooms for a family of seven. When visiting the home with Sabah, the architect said that renovations were not possible as the building had serious structural problems. It wouldn’t support renovations.

Next we went to our office where Sabah had researched well for us the information needed to see if we could have each of our three pre-schools invite 100 elementary-aged children for summer camps for two weeks. This we decided was possible. 

In September we hope to add the forth pre-school which may need renovations to get their permit to be registered as a pre-school. The other three schools also need some materials for their schools such as rugs, painting, and indoor and outdoor toys.

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March 2022 visit

 

March 8 and 9 2022 Trip to Gaza   

 

On March 8 and 9, 2022, Sr. Susan, Sr. Frantiska, Fr. George, Sabah, and Sami visited the Zeitun neighborhood of Gaza.  They first visited a one-story home approved for renovation last November.  The construction crew contracted by Sabah had completed a significant amount of work.  The crew rebuilt the kitchen and built an entirely new room in an interior courtyard.  All the rooms have new corrugated roofs and are ready for the installation of window frames and glass. 

The kitchen was a complete upgrade with plastered walls and tiled floors.  The construction crew added three or four decorative tiles on the wall above the location of a new countertop. The family, especially the children, were all smiles. They were witnessing significant material improvements to their home.  And the home builders were happy.  The construction crew wore yellow neon safety vests with “Daughters of Charity Gaza Association” printed on the back.  These men had meaningful work, and they knew two English words, “Thank You.”

Zeitun is a poor, densely populated area of the city. The worn-down buildings approach, in some cases, 100 years of use.  The Gaza Project assists the Samira Women’s Association with medicine, food, and clothes.  The group has a food preparation business and before the pandemic had exported pre-cooked, bagged meals to Morocco and Spain.  As a result of the pandemic, the entire community has lost work and income.  Many people have not received financial assistance from either Samira or the civil welfare system for over one year. The Association continues to provide the Gaza Project with the names and addresses of the families most in need of help.

The team also visited the Zakhir preschool in Zietun. The school located in a residential building had 70 students in attendance with three small rooms acting as classrooms, an activity area the size of a large living room, and a covered interior patio with some play equipment and artificial grass. The eight teachers and administrators had the children entertain the team, with songs, stationary exercises, and plenty of smiles. The preschool needs significant upgrading: repair or replacement of the courtyard roof, expansion of the bathroom to fulfill the local ordinances, the hanging windows, and faucets for the play area. Sr. Susan and the team saw this preschool as a worthy charitable project.

During the trip, the team visited four homes for potential renovation.  Two homes were beyond the point of renovation.  The Gaza Project gave one family funds to pay for travel costs for medical visits.  The owner of the second house acknowledged that renovation was not possible with bowed and weakened walls. A third house could possibly have some roofing renovation.  This is to be determined by the contractor and Sabah.  Finally, the team visited a family in the Beach Refugee Camp.  The family had a two-room house with eight children. Placing the water tank on the roof will gain some space. The Project will also provide windows and a door.  

Sister Frantiska had the team bring three well-packed suitcases of clothes for distribution.  When unpacked, the clothes filled 12 large, plastic container bags.  A welcomed wonder!

Time was spent with the Missionaries of Charity and the Institute of the Divine Word priests at Holy Family Parish. The team visited the local museum as an excursion prior to leaving.

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February 2022 visit

 

VISIT FEBRUARY 8^th AND 9^th

 

Sr. Frantiska and I went together this visit. We had no troubles entering or leaving. Sabah had us visit right away a home that we have chosen to renovate. They need extensive renovations: a bathroom outside the home, a second bedroom for the children, a new roof, windows and flooring in places. The second family which we visited had the father in bed as he has suffered 14 years with cancer. They had their bathroom and kitchen put in by another relief organization, but they still need a new roof, flooring and an added bedroom as they all sleep in one room now. They have nine children.

We met with the directors of the four pre-schools. We reminded them that the teachers should be getting their full salaries of 300 to 400 nis monthly since we are covering the fees for the families who can pay only part of the monthly 20 nis. 

After that, we visited a home that we had just renovated. The family was very happy with the results of their renovations. They are a family of 12 children; the Father and one son are diabetic. We had helped them with medicines and bags of food.

Next we made condolence visits to two families. We went for the evening to the Missionaries of Charity Sisters where we always spend the night. They always are so good to us and they bring up to date on what is happening in the parish.

The second day we went to the Middle Camps to visit our two schools there. The children were hard at work. In the school sponsored by Marco, the Italian clown, we were able to see the outcome of many great renovations that were made. We tried to visit a third school, but were too late so we visited a Women’s Center. This center supports this pre-school and their kitchen prepares nice meals for the children. On the next visit we hope to visit the school while the children are there.

Sabah’s photos help us to share our visit with you.

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January 2022 visit by Lorenzo

 

January visit by Lorenzo

Lorenzo went down just for the day. He and Sabah visited three homes. Their visit were to choose the next homes to be renovated. Two of the homes were in a bad condition and one will be renovated soon. Our pictures this month are of a home that was renovated in mid-December. You will see the condition of the home before the renovations and then the condition of the home after the renovations. There is one pictures of Sabah and Lorenzo talking to the family.

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Visit November 2021

 

Our visit Nov. 22 and 23 of November 2021

Our newest member Fr. George Schultze joined Sr. Frantiska and me for this visit. Although we couldn’t rent a car as we usually do, we found that we could take a taxi from the Damascus Gate to and from Gaza.

The first day we were just the three of us, and the second day Lorenzo joined us. That first morning was spent visiting families in need of home repairs or homes which we repaired during the Covid. We were pleased with the home renovation outcomes due to Sabah’s close supervision. Our driver is also volunteering his time to help Sabah. Before winter we hope to renovate two more homes.

In the afternoon we met with Sabah.  It was Fr. George’s first visit, and we showed him the popular little fishing port. Later Fr. Gabriel welcomed Fr. George to the priest’s residence, and they discussed the situation of the local church. We sisters joined the Missionaries of Charity where we are always welcomed to spend the night. They spent some time with us in the evening.

The following day, being we were a larger group, one group went to visit the two schools in the Middle Camps, and Lorenzo joined us to clear up some long-standing problems with our bank. We met in the office where again we had lunch, and Sabah again shared news with us.

Sami the driver took us to the border where we hired a taxi to Jerusalem. Arriving at Damascus Gate, we took public transportation  or walked to our various homes.

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