CRS Work in Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza

Catholic Relief Services works in partnership with community councils, high schools, youth organizations, universities and human rights organizations to help impoverished Palestinians.

Food for Families

With the World Food Program, CRS has distributed food vouchers to 2,605 poor urban families in Hebron and Yatta. Impoverished families can use the vouchers to buy bread, milk, cheese, yogurt and eggs. In Gaza, CRS distributes food to families affected by the January 2009 conflict.

Food for Work

CRS distributes wheat flour, sugar, salt, oil and chickpeas from the World Food Program to men in the West Bank in return for work on infrastructure projects. The men do projects such as rehabilitating farmland, building agricultural roads, fixing irrigation systems, and creating retaining walls for schools and clinics. The program provides food for 12,500 beneficiaries.

Employment for Impoverished Women

CRS' From Poor Women to Poor Families project in Gaza employs women who head households to make food for the poor. Two hundred rural women make cheese, provide eggs and grow vegetables to be distributed to 2,000 needy families.

Nonviolence Programs for Young People

In the West Bank and Gaza, CRS helps hundreds of young people, aged 18 to 25, mitigate conflict in their communities and choose peace. CRS' programs encourage young people to understand the dynamics of violence—including domestic, interfamily and political violence—and develop productive ways to address it. The programs include adventure camps and small grants for youth projects.

Reconstruction for Gazans

In Gaza, CRS funds small home-repair projects for families whose houses were damaged in the January 2009 conflict. The program also rehabilitates communal buildings such as clinics, kindergartens and parks in some of the most affected neighborhoods. College-age people receive stipends for helping with repairs like replacing windows, painting and cleaning up rubble.

Fair Trade for Local Producers

Through our fair trade parner SERRV, CRS sells olive oil, carved wood items, soap and other products made by Palestinian farmers and artisans. The sales enable poor families to stay afloat during difficult economic times.

Psychosocial Help for Traumatized Children

In Gaza, CRS helps children who have suffered from prolonged exposure to violence and stress. The project trains counselors and youth leaders to help women and children in need of nonspecialized support. The program teaches parents how to help a child recover from traumatic events, and indentifies a variety of coping mechanisms. CRS also funds special Children's Days—with coloring, games and other activities—for 600 Gazan children in six communities.