ActionAid Palestine Youth Groups Members Fight COVID-19
Khalid Al-Sheikh
ActionAid Palestine’s (AAP) preparedness and response plan to COVID-19 presents an ample opportunity to supports Youth-led, evidence-based initiatives. A member in youth groups of Alternative Information Center which is a partner in implementing activities of AAP's “Civil Society and Democratic Participation Programme”, Khalid Al-Sheikh 21 years old from Bethlehem expressed how significant youth participation in preparedness and emergency response actions in leveraging youth status and position at local and national levels.
Serving Community
During COVID- 19 crisis, Khalid showed great commitment towards serving community by participating in many voluntary actions. Khalid says: “. I organized entertainment and musical activities for children through mobile bus help them to break boredom and mitigate psychological stress of home routine”.
Khalid continued: “I reached our people who are in quarantine. I raise awareness of my community by leading awareness campaigns and distributing health booklets about preventive measures to my community to contain the spread of virus through social media. I also share correct and up-to-date information on how young people can combat the virus”.
Building Youth Capacities
Offering youth space to act during crisis times aims to enhance their leadership and personal skills. Khalid feels this change saying: “I am now more courageous to express my opinion and have the capacity to discuss and practice pressure on decision makers to give youth more space in response actions during emergencies. Youth needs to be engaged in defining people who need help as well as the most suitable mechanisms for interventions. This crisis has strengthened my character and connected me with community organizations to mobilize support for my community”.
Background Information
ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty. ActionAid works worldwide to empower people living in poverty and exclusion with focus on women’s rights .ActionAid works directly and closely with communities, civil society organizations, women movements and social groups and movements and other allies to tackle root causes of poverty and oppression. ActionAid deliver grassroots programmes to utilize efforts of global struggle movements working for a just, fair and sustainable world. Based on human rights-based approach and women rights’ principles, ActionAid seeks to fairly re-distribute powers through solidarity, empowerment, awareness campaigns and creating alternatives to ensure that everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from oppression.
ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of that federation which started its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian People as ActionAid believes that they should enjoy their rights to freedom, justice and self-determination. AAP implements a number of programs through its engagement with communities and women and youth groups seeking to empower them and enhance their influential civil and political participation to understand their rights and undertake collective activism to address the protracted rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation of Palestine. AAP works simultaneously to enhance their leadership capacity and knowledge to practice their citizenship in holding authorities and other duty bearers to account.
For more information, please contact
Riham Jafari
Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication in Gaza Strip and West Bank
Mobile:
+972 (0) 595242890
Office:
+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137
Email: