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.

Emergency Assistance

Food for Work/Food for Training

CRS is improving living conditions in the southern rural areas of the West Bank and in East Jerusalem by creating job opportunities for the unemployed. Since the fall of 2006, more than 120,000 people, or 16,000 families, have received food in return for 20 hours of training or 25 hours of work per month.

Both men and women learn skills related to health, home economics, agriculture and livestock. For families who return to farming because they are no longer permitted to work in cities, we provide fruit and nut seedlings along with irrigation equipment like hoses, and help with removing overgrowth. As a result of the Food for Work/Food for Training program, participants have improved their farmlands, built retaining walls for schools, clinics and agricultural roads, and improved the overall infrastructure of their communities.

CRS also provides food like flour, cooking oil and chickpeas to vulnerable members of society, including the elderly.

Psychosocial Intervention in the Gaza Strip

Internal fighting in Gaza, continuing Israeli military action and severe economic problems have deeply shaken Palestinian society. The trauma caused ranges from physical injuries to the emotional wounds of witnessing killings and injuries of relatives and friends. Shortly after the 2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, CRS partnered with the Gaza Community Mental Health Program to provide emergency mental health services and counseling for children and women. The program also helps youth leaders overcome their traumatic experiences and engages them to develop a campaign to encourage peaceful conflict resolution among Palestinian young people.

Education and Youth

Building Youth Leaders in Palestine

Today's Palestinian young people are an extraordinary group, dealing with a unique set of challenges few youth in the world have to encounter. They have been born in a militarily occupied territory and have lived through incursions. Expanding settlements, the security barrier, restrictions on movement and lack of economic opportunity are all obstacles to personal growth.

CRS recognizes that Palestinian youth can be a positive force in their communities. In the Building Youth Leaders in Palestine project, CRS aims to empower youth by giving them opportunities to change their own society.

Cyber Bridges

As part of our global Cyber Bridges program, CRS links teenagers in the West Bank to Catholic high school students in the United States via e-mail, shared PowerPoint presentations and structured web chats. Students in both countries learn more about each others' lives, challenges and dreams.

Value-Building Education

CRS' Value-Building Education program brings together teachers, students, parents and the community in a variety of activities that stimulate a sense of social responsibility among students. Palestinian teenagers volunteer in centers for the elderly or disabled, go on field trips to historical sites, and visit businesses to learn about possible careers.

CRS has trained parent-student-teacher councils to reshape the educational system. These councils have been able to identify gaps in the educational system, communicate needs to school administrators and raise student awareness of various issues.

Gazan Youth Speak Out

The Gazan Youth Speak Out project engages college-age youth in identifying their challenges and needs. The young people conduct surveys, do research and build skills related to economic empowerment, community development and advocacy. With hundreds of young people from all parts of Gaza participating, the project aims to generate a movement of youth from different socioeconomic, educational and political backgrounds who actively engage their communities and voice a message for peace and justice. The goal is to give youth a powerful, nonviolent, democratic way to participate in their society and raise their voices for change.

The Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, SJ Institute for Youth Leadership

CRS, in cooperation with the Jesuit Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem, provides support to the SJ Institute for Youth Leadership at Bethlehem University. This institute consists of academic and social programs for young Palestinians in both Christian and Muslim communities. Its programs also respond to the recognized need among Palestinians to foster values that will support democratic change in Palestine.

Public Outreach and Advocacy

CRS seeks to raise awareness, promote interest and engage potential leaders in the United States about issues concerning the conflict in the Holy Land. This initiative is in line with the agency's strategy to help Catholics in the United States live their faith in solidarity with the poor and marginalized overseas. Through programs like the Catholic Campaign for Peace in the Holy Land and our partnership with Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem ("in [His] image"), we help U.S. Catholics and others understand the issues and become advocates for peace.