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Volunteers are Community Heroes Strengthening Community Resilience during Times of Wars, Natural Crisis and Pandemics

Photo of young people during their participation in national campaign  titled with “ We will Rebuild it’ for  cleaning Gaza from rubbles after end Israeli war against Gaza -Gaza Strip- Palestine -2021

 

ActionAid Palestine (AAP) celebrated the volunteers. The International Volunteers Day falls on 5th of Dec each year. The theme of this year is “volunteer now for common future”. AAP expresses its apperception to the role of volunteers. Young volunteers in Gaza and West Bank have showed a great commitment and tireless work in serving the Palestinian community during state of emergency.

AAP has worked with its partners in Gaza and West Bank to offer volunteers sufficient space to participate in voluntary works, lead initiatives, and participate in preparedness and response actions. Their voluntary actions have contributed to strengthening community resilience and development and serving its most marginalized groups under different conditions including the recent Israeli escalation against Gaza of May 2021 and natural crisis and pandemics.

The conditions of emergency the Palestinian community has passed through proved that the youth who face successive humanitarian crisis are the main actors in rescue operations for the most vulnerable groups. They themselves apparently played a role in reconstruction and improving their living conditions and community.

Young women and men were part of response and preparedness committees that AAP and its partners established. The members of those committees have showed an organized, unique and collective action in leading response cation to state of emergency and crisis. This voluntary and leading work has helped youth to deeply understand their rights and leadership.

Young volunteers in Gaza Strip showed a great commitment towards serving their community during Israeli escalation and after declaration of ceasefire. Volunteers were engaged in raising awareness sessions and providing psychological support to women and children, removing rubbles, cleaning campaigns, and reconstruction.

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:

 Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org