February 12, 2008
Subject: NDC Gaza Appeal
Coming in the wake of nearly 18 months of blockade, Israel’s massive military operation in the Gaza Strip (which began on December 27, 2008) has dealt another severe blow to our already impoverished people in Gaza. As this appeal is being launched, over 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and an estimated 5,500 injured, of which hundreds are in critical condition. The immediate ramifications of the military offensive include; reduced access to already scarce and expensive food commodities, shortage in critical medical supplies to meet the needs of the sudden influxes of war injuries, destruction/ damage to public infrastructure and thousands of private homes and businesses, and lack of industrial fuel for power generation.
In an effort to mitigate the impact of the ongoing military operations, NDC has developed a four-fold intervention which focuses both on emergency relief, as well as creating exits from the turmoil once the dust and the chaos subside. The below intervention was designed in-line with NDC’s current programs and will involve NDC’s network of 50 partner-NGOs as well as potential partners operating in the Gaza Strip.
1. Specialized Health and Rehabilitation:
The injuries faced by the wounded in Gaza vary from amputees requiring specialized prosthetics and burn and spinal cord injuries in need of specialized surgeons to injuries new and un-mounted by the most experienced physicians. Doctors (both local and international) on the scene in Gaza have indicated the use of new weaponry such as White Phosphorus and DIME (dense inert metal explosive) and have expressed their bafflement in how to respond to their unorthodox effects (i.e. DIME bombs and missiles cause severing of extremities, showing signs of severe heat at point of amputation, but no metal shrapnel).
Through this intervention, NDC will support NGO hospitals and specialized clinics in Gaza which are providing specialized health care services (i.e. physical therapy, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, etc.), none of which are available in the current public health system. More specifically, donations will go towards:
- Specialized technical assistance (i.e. medical missions)
- Rehabilitation of existing facilities
- Capacity building of medical staff to meet new and immediate need.
- Purchase and repair/maintenance of existing medical equipment.
- The provision of physical therapy to injured individuals.
NDC at present has 6 partner specialized health and rehabilitation NGOs and has identified 14 potential partners.
Financial target for Specialized Health: USD 5.0 million
2. Emergency Social Services:
Through this intervention, NDC will help to heal the lives of Gazans through financing emergency social services in response to the current humanitarian crisis. The survivors of the latest Israeli military offensive on Gaza (bearing deep physical and emotional scares) may become beneficiaries of NDC sponsored programs ranging from psycho-social and therapeutic support to projects which aid Gazans in rehabilitating their lives and livelihoods. A special focus of this intervention will include the support of NGO-operated kindergartens in the Gaza Strip, in an effort to alleviate the suffering of young children, their families, and early-education personnel.
For this intervention NDC, currently has 17 partner NGOs to immediately implement project activities and has identified 6 potential partner NGOs to complete and compliment the work of current partners.
Financial target for Emergency Social Services: USD 2.0 million
3. Agricultural Services:
Through this intervention, NDC will work to redevelop and re-build agricultural land and facilities that were destroyed by the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip. The attacks on Gaza transformed agricultural lands into military bases and roads for military vehicles use. This resulted in the destruction and demolition of agricultural facilities including bulldozing land and irrigation networks to uprooting trees, damaging crops, and destroying greenhouses.
The Gaza Strip has a total of 70,000 dunums of agricultural land with the capacity to produce 280,000 to 300,000 tons of agricultural products annually. As a result of the latest Israeli attacks, an area of approximately 10,000 square dumums to the east of the Gaza city has been intentionally destroyed by military bulldozers and turned into barren and dissolute areas. Moreover, a total of 5,150 dunums of fruitful trees, 5,150 dunums of irrigation networks and 1,150 dunums of agricultural green houses were completely destroyed (press release, Palestinian Farmers Union, Jan 2009).
For this intervention, NDC will work with its 18 local agricultural NGO partners in the Gaza Strip as well as 6 prospective partners.
Financial target for Agricultural Services: USD 4.0 million
4. Shelters/ Internally Displaced People (IDP):
In an effort to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian residents that lost their homes during the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, NDC, through its partner organizations will work to ensure safe shelter for internally displaced Palestinians through temporary rent (6 months) as they await the re-building of their homes.
A joint rapid needs assessment conducted by the United Nations and NGOs between 22 and 25 January 2009, found that in 48 of 61 localities where results have been gathered, about 22.6% of housing units were damaged or destroyed. The assessment of the 48 localities found that more than 66,000 people have not yet returned to their homes and were staying with relatives or other hosts. (UNDP, February 2009)
For this intervention, NDC will work with 3 partners working in various localities/regions in the Gaza Strip.
Financial target for Shelters/ IDP: USD 1.0 million