Palestinian Young Volunteers to Respond to COVID-19 on Frontlines
To continue their voluntary work during the whole year, ActionAid Palestine praises the work of young volunteers. 5th of December is the International Day for Volunteers which is celebrated this year under the slogan of “Together We Can” through volunteerism. ActionAid Palestine (AAP) expressed its appreciation to the role of volunteers, and gave them opportunity to show their potential and reward them in different ways to honor their achievements during this year that has experienced great challenges due to spread of COVID-19.
Voluntary Work represents a noble cultural and developmental value and an opportunity to encourage governments to support volunteers' efforts and recognize their contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels.
Over the last months, and through its program of “Civil and Democratic Participation of Palestinian youth, AAP and its partners worked to enhance capacities of volunteers and equip them with skills that will help them in tackling emergency conditions as COVID-19 crisis. AAP continues working with volunteers by offering them the space to do their voluntary work on the frontlines and engaging them in effective participation in decision-making processes, leading community initiatives related to health and community preparedness and response for combating pandemic.
Volunteers showed courage, high skills and strong willingness to work on frontlines along with doctors, paramedics, emergency staff at critical sectors, they became another category of unsung heroes playing a pivotal role in this crisis. Volunteers contributed in strengthening community resilience, establishing social connections, amplifying voices of marginalized groups. Volunteerism during emergency cases is a source of inspiration for many young people
Youth volunteers participated in many preparedness and response interventions in the governorates of Bethlehem, Hebron and Gaza. They participated in identifying the needs of the marginalized and other people, packaging food parcels and hygiene kits and distributing them to the marginalized families and to those ones in health quarantine. Some volunteers implemented recreational activities for children and elderly people to support their mental health that was affected by the lockdown measures. Some youth voluntary initiatives utilized social media to combat fake news to promote social cohesion and raise awareness of community about safety measure and social distances to contain the spread of the virus.
The country director of AAP, Ibrahim Ibraigheth said: “we express our high appreciation to the important role of the volunteerism plays in the global and local efforts responding to COVID-19 crisis. We express our thank to all volunteers for their contribution and reach to the marginalized areas and families in oPt during pandemic. The efforts they exerted ensured no one is left behind and effectively contribute in achieving SDGs. We are pleased to see how volunteers quickly adapted to new realities and found new ways to continue their noble work during COVID-19.These voluntary works reflect the great energy of volunteerism which will Palestine need to tackle the economic and social conditions in post COVID-19”
Background Information
ActionAid in Palestine (AAP) is a part of global federation working for social justice and gender equality and eradicate poverty in more than 45 countries around the world. AAP started its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian People as AAP 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 Palestine
Mobile:
+972 (0) 595242890
Office:
+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137
Email: