This summer, Gaza YMCA was able to run its 27th Summer Camp for 400 children and 90 leaders for one full month. Despite the most difficult circumstances, "for the Gaza YMCA it is a challenge to work and run our activities and programs and to meet the needs of people especially children," says Issa Saba, General Secretary. But the economic crisis brewing up more critically since January means that the YMCA is no longer able to secure its income from the community it is serving. 160'000 Palestinian civil servants have not received their salaries since March. This is due to Israel's refusal to pass on its regular custom duties to the Palestinians and the fact that various western donors stopped giving money after the Hamas Movement was elected into government. Since March, none of the 120'000 laborers formerly working in Israel were allowed to pass through Erez crossing. Gaza fishermen have been unable to access the sea since 25 June and last week again, the Israeli Occupation Forces opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat and bulldozed another 20 hectares (50 acres) of olive groves and agricultural land in the southern Gaza Strip. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) states that nearly 80% of people in Gaza are living in poverty. More than 70% of the population are unable to cover their daily food needs without assistance. According to the World Food Program, wheat flour and sugar remain in short supply, with prices up to 33% higher than in January this year.
The capturing of an Israeli soldier on 25 June and the firing of homemade rockets by Palestinian militants (towards targets inside Israel), has increased Israeli Military attacks from the sea, land and sky, killing, injuring and imprisoning more people and demolishing more houses and land, including the electricity station, bridges and roads.
For the Gaza YMCA it is even more important to continue running their programs and to meet the needs of people, especially children. The YMCA Center in the heart of Gaza City remains an open and safe place for hundreds of families to meet, some days accommodating up to 1000 persons. For the next six months, Gaza YMCA plans to even increase its work for children and youth. This includes:
- Accepting all children in the YMCA kindergarten,
therefore subsidizing some of their fees and other needs like uniform,
stationary and transportation.
- Supporting children through various
sport teams
- Responding to the needs of families
by gathering them in the YMCA with different social programs.
- Provide different groups of children
with psychosocial support activities inside and outside the YMCA Center.
- Start a new art program for the year 2006 - 2007, where a good number of youth and children can express themselves and find their future work related to the art field.
International partners of the YMCA Gaza are making special effort to provide the resources needed for these programs, so important in a situation like Gaza.
Jan Egeland, the UN's Humanitarian Co-ordinator said that the people of Gaza were "living in a cage" with Israel closing all border crossings and sees the crisis in the Gaza strip as a "ticking time bomb". "We need more money but we need also a political solution to this war", he commented.