ActionAid and WEFAQ to Respond to the Needs of Mental Health of Women in Gaza Strip After Recent Escalation
Gaza strip (GS)- Palestine - ActionAid Palestine (AAP) continued implementing its emergency response in GS in partnership with Palestinian organizations. AAP’s partner, Wefaq Association for Women and Child Care (WEFAQ) conducted psychological support sessions and distributing dignity kits for women. This response targeted 100 marginalized women in the border areas of Rafah in the south of GS. Those women are mostly affected by the recent escalation against GS. These sessions aimed at providing women with psychological relief and mitigating their tense, psychological stresses caused by Israeli airstrikes targeting civilians, children and houses.
Those interventions are part of the emergency response that AAP implements with local partners in Gaza Strip. This response is funded by ActionAid ‘s Disaster Preparedness and Response Fund (DPRF).
WEFAQ conducted more than 40 psychological support sessions targeting 10 women groups. During post war times, women suffer from different psychological problems as worry, sleep disorder, eating disorder and discomfort and other symptoms.
This response was designed through participatory planning with WEFAQ .It integrated the mental health needs of women and provision of essential items they need in post war times. These sessions were conducted upon the request of targeted women and young women who agreed to essentially implement psychological relief activities to help them to overcome bad psychological problems and stresses they suffer from.
The participants recommended that additional activities of psychological relief should essentially be organized. They also demanded to organize recreational trips and open dialogue sessions on regular basis.
Rasha Abu Al-Hassoun ( 32 years old) lives in Al-Shoka town in the border area in south-east Gaza strip . Rasha is a mother of four children. Rasha talked about her experience after the end of the recent escalation: “I had feelings of sever tiredness, worry, fear and irritability. Receiving Psychological support sessions from WEFAQ helped me to quickly overcome those feelings and negative energy and dignity kit was really helpful for me and my children”.
Hana Mohammad Sheikh Al-Eed ( 49 years old ) has a family consists of 10 members. She lives in the order area in Rafah in the south of Gaza Strip.Hana has a unbearable tragedy caused by the loss of her pregnant daughter -in-law and her granddaughter after Israeli airstrikes had damaged their house that consists of three floors. This loss and tragedy took place on the day of Al-Fitter feast during last May.For Hana, this day is supposed to be a happy day celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, while it has become a sad date reminding her of the loss of her beloved ones and beginning of her new role of taking care of her grandson, Abed Al-Rahman( 4 years old) who lost his mother and sister. Hana was communicated by AAP’s partner, WEFAQ society to invite and encourage her to join psychological support sessions in attempt to mitigate the psychological impact of her sadness and loss of her beloved ones. WEFAQ had succeeded in convincing her to join those sessions. Hana talked about her experience: “the loss of beloved ones is not an easy matter, but psychological support sessions helped me to some extent to decrease the feelings of sadness and have feelings of comfort . I really demand additional psychological support”.
(photo of Hana while she is looking after her grandson who lost his mother and sister during the recent escalation against Gaza Strip)
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), during the escalation in Gaza in May, 260 Palestinians, were killed, including 66 children.
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 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 Palestine
Mobile:
+972 (0) 595242890
Office:
+972 (0) (2) 22 13 137
Email:
.