Jerusalem24 – Yara Al-Nazer – “Supporting the rights of the Palestinian people, mainly the right of self-determination, and the end of occupation and oppression,” that is ActionAid’s goal in Palestine, the spokesperson of ActionAid Palestine, Riham Al-Jafaari, told Jerusalem24.
ActionAid is a federation that “works for a world free of poverty and injustice,” and has been working in the Palestinian territories since 2007.
Jafaari highlighted the focus, goals, and targets of ActionAid’s work in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip in a conversation on Vibes.
Strengthening the resilience of women
ActionAid has a variety of projects aimed at strengthening the resilience of women affected by political, social, and natural crises, Jafaari explained.
“Women are vulnerable and marginalized; hence, ActionAid works to enhance the response to their needs, and enhance accountability. we also support women in enhancing their income-generating projects and connecting them with other relevant organizations and stakeholders.”
Additionally, ActionAid has campaigns aimed at raising awareness about digital rights and digital gender-based violence. Their latest campaign “let’s protect them digitally” aims at guiding “Palestinian women and young people about the mechanisms of reporting online violence”.
Their project in Gaza “Enhancing the protection and resilience of vulnerable groups in the central area of the Gaza Strip” aims at “engaging young people to be part of the response to the needs of vulnerable groups”.
“At the frontlines”
ActionAid Palestine also works with youth, engages them with projects and campaigns with the goal of enhancing their leadership skills, motivates them to become part of the solutions to the problems which their communities face, and become active agents in their communities, according to Riham.
As part of their projects, ActionAid engages with young volunteers.
“The volunteers are at the frontlines, who try to save their community and strengthen the resilience of their community to provide vulnerable people with services,” Riham told Jerusalem24.
Moreover, they also work with accountability committees and monitor the work of local governments. “Volunteers are also engaged in lobbying and advocacy campaigns, demanding and claiming the rights of vulnerable groups”.
Challenges of Implementation
“ActionAid is a humanitarian organization that suffers from a number of challenges that delay the achievement of its organization’s goals.”
The political developments and continued attacks on Palestinian rights pose and challenge which requires a lot of organization and funding “organization to respond to the increasing need of the affected population, especially women, the youth and children, Jafaari emphasized.
Furthermore, the political developments in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip endanger ActionAid staff and the groups which they work with.
“Our staff may be exposed to detention when they go to some areas where confrontations erupt”.
ActionAid also suffers from the “shrinking of the political, democratic, and humanitarian space”, as it exposes its beneficiaries to limitations on their freedom of expression.
Listen to the full interview on Vibes.
https://soundcloud.com/24fmpalestine/vibes-riham-15-12-2022
