Visit of Sister Susan in June 2017

I down alone this time and the weather was lovely. Right away we distributed food bags to 9 families who all lived in the same general area in the north and some poor in Gaza City. All were living in shacks or very damaged buildings due to the last war. One family had three handicapped children. Despite their poverty all the homes were clean.    

Sabah told us that our present office building which was Sabah’s older home will be destroyed soon, so we must move. She is looking for a possible building to use. One possibility is a building which her son used and is still renting to be able to store his furnishing there. We will share the expenses involved.    

Sabah, her husband and daughter were hoping to get permission to travel in July.

I visited Sr. Bridget and after Grada who faithfully working with Fr. Mario of the parish taking the children, teens and older women for prayer and they also celebrate all the feast days with the parish. That evening she served me a delicious meal.

The second day we went to Musaddar School and visited the very poor in this area. We saw women sitting outside preparing a meal, Families with handicapped children, a very sick woman and great poverty in each home. Many asked for food. It was not easy to witness all this distress. We would like to be able to do much more for each family.  

Photogallery

Lorenzo e Martino visit in March 2017

The two Brothers had a full two days with Sabah. They visited several families and especially some who had requested food. We find that many families are asking for food as the general situation in Gaza is getting worse. There is less money in circulation due to low salaries and high unemployment. The pictures tell the truth of the situation.

Photogallery

Visit in February 2017

Fr. Stan and I joined Sabah and Wasel and our first stop in Gaza was at the El Arabia School where the children were busy learning their letters and some were coloring air-planes. They were eating apples. The kitchen there is very small and needs to be separated from the bathroom area. This will be studied to see if we can make this renovation.

We made some home visits and several of the families had no flooring, only sand under straw mats on the floor. They had only one foset and no running water for the bathroom. Some of the family members needed medicines and the papers for this was given to Sabah. One large family are ordered to leave their home, as they can’t pay the rent. They have no place to go. Sabah will try to help them with this. One family we know well has four handicapped women ages 25 to 45 and the mother who cared for them now has Alzheimer’s herself and needs care. A woman helps them during the day yet they need a person for the night as one of these women gets up and is aggressive toward the others in the night. We went home wondering how we can meet the needs of these families.

Photogallery

Early January Visit 2017

I went down a sunny Monday morning and as usual Sabah and Wasel met me at the border. We visited Fawyseh's School first and were impressed by the serious studies going on and the music being taught by one teacher in preparations for Mother's Day in February. Nice red apples were the treat for the day. We visited the little kitchen which needs to be enlarged and saw how it must be separated from the bathrooms. That's the next project for this school.

Visit September 19, 2016

Fr. Juan and I went to Gaza just for the day September 19^th. and really covered visiting many places. We began with a visit to Fawyseh's school. Being it is the beginning of the school year there were few children; gradually more will be registering. The children were eating falafel sandwiches which were delicious.

Visit in August 2016

-->

I spent two days in Gaza the first day joined the 18 teachers of our four pre-schools who met with a music teacher. Our original plan was to have a three day workshop for the 17 teachers so that they could all learn how to animate their children with music and dance.

Meeting with Oliver and Maren

June 18 was a great day for us as after 6 years Oliver and Maren came for a visit. They wanted to sit in on one of our meetings which was great. They answered some questions for us besides. Home repair especially for families with handicapped members  is a great need. We will continue to target this group. In the winter months the wind, cold and rain enter. In summer the rats and snakes enter. There are still so many substandard homes and shacks to be repaired. Security from sicknesses will also be the result. They usually need roofs, windows and doors replaced. Hopefully we can get funding to repair one a month.
In the photos regretfully Sabah is missing as she did not have her permission to come for the meeting in time. Br. Lorenzo was also missing due to a previous commitment. Bro. Joe is our senior member, Andres is the tallest of the group, Fr. Juan is to my left in the photo.

Emergency Relief Fund through Lor., February, March and April 2016

Some photos of the distribution, in February, March and April 2016, to poor families in the Gaza Strip, of the basic necessities.

Emergency Relief, March-April 2016

Some photos of the distribution, in March-April 2016, to poor families in the Gaza Strip, of the basic necessities.

April 2016, visiting schools

April gave me two Days for visiting our schools as they finish in May for the summer. I was able to visit three of the four pre-schools. I was impressed by the letters and numbers that they have learned. The Ministry of Education gives them the curriculum and it's a great guide for the teachers.