Raising Awareness about Flood Risks in Vulnerable Areas of Gaza
By Ziad Bakri Ahmad*, a father of six children, lives with his family in Khuzaa village. Like many others living in the Gaza Strip, he and his family face daily challenges related to hazards that accompany the winter season, from sewage overflow and flooding to frequent power outages and frigid temperatures. More than 148,500 people…
Read MoreHygiene Promotion Team Protects Families from Diseases in Northwest Syria
By Adile Sahin Ali, 37, lives with six family members in Atmeh, which hosts more than 157,400 internally displaced people in northwest Syria. The camp was established in 2011, following the start of the country’s now decades-long conflict, and sits on graded agricultural land that lacks a proper sewage drainage system. Over the last 10…
Read MoreSupporting Families through Winter in Gaza
By Ziad Bakri and Lizzie Hickman In Palestine, winter brings near freezing temperatures and torrential rain, leaving families that cannot afford to winterize their homes at the mercy of the weather. To help families overcome winter-related challenges, Global Communities distributed 350 winterization and hygiene kits and conducted health promotion sessions with 3,485 households in the…
Read MoreGlobal Communities Ramps up WASH Services in Response to Cholera Outbreak in Syria
Atmeh, Syria – Global Communities is responding to a major cholera outbreak that has been spreading across Syria, ramping up water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for more than 157,000 internally displaced people at Atmeh camp in northwest Syria. Between August 25 and November 5, at least 35,569 suspected cases – including 92 deaths –…
Read MoreRight to Care: Family-Centered Approaches for Vulnerable Children and Adolescents
By Betty Adera The impact of disasters, complexities of humanitarian crises and ongoing effects of climate change pose major threats to the lives of children. These challenges impact the most vulnerable among us and expose them to health, water and food insecurity; exploitation and sexual violence; deprivation and neglect. Long-standing, systemic human and child rights…
Read MoreSupporting Households Impacted by Poorly Processed Wastewater on the Gaza Strip
On the Gaza Strip, access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is fragile and an estimated 25% of households are not connected to the wastewater network. Access to WASH varies drastically by location, as many unconnected households are outside of Gaza’s five largest cities. Chronic power shortages limit regular operation of treatment plants, leading to…
Read MoreChallenging Malnutrition When Widespread Hunger Prevails in Yemen
One-year-old Mohammed and his family live in the Qa’atabah district of Yemen, near constant conflict that has killed and injured civilians and impeded access to essential goods and services for the past seven years. When volunteers from the Yemen Emergency Food Assistance (YEFA) III program first met Mohammed, he was 14 months old and suffering…
Read MoreDisaster Planning Pays Off in Northwest Syria
By Adile Sahin Originally from Hama, Asem has been displaced several times, like most Syrians, to escape the war at home. First forced to flee in 2012, he was displaced to the Idleb countryside, where he opened a hygiene materials shop. However, the village was later bombed by an air strike, during which Asem suffered…
Read MoreUsing the New Digital Savings Group Hub to Eliminate Paper, Inspire Savings
Digitization can feel overwhelming — and even risky when considering inherent equity and access issues. Yet, with the right resources, organizations can go paper-free, or at least reduce that paper output, and save money in the process. We chatted with Paulina Rudnicka, Senior Technical Advisor for Gender Integration at Global Communities, about the launch of…
Read MoreThe Vitas Lab: Building Brighter Futures Through Financial Innovation
By Rohit Kulkarni and Lizzie Hickman Low- and middle-income countries were hit hard by COVID-19, as revenue streams dried up and government enforced lockdowns shuttered workplaces. Cracks in Lebanon’s financial system started in 2019 but were exacerbated by the pandemic. As a result, the Lebanese economy has undergone one of the worst peacetime collapses in…
Read MoreFinding a Safe Space in Syria: Hamida’s Story
For more than half of her life, Hamida has been exposed to the trauma, violence and instability of war. The 20-year-old, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is one of 14.6 million people currently in need of humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing crisis in Syria. Recognizing that women and girls often…
Read MoreReflecting on USAID YouthPower Jordan’s Long-Lasting Impact
By: Carrie Hessler-Radelet, President of Global Communities We at Global Communities believe that today’s youth should not have to wait to become leaders, because they already have a vision of the world in which they want to live. With access to the right tools, training and networks, youth can build an enabling environment and simultaneously…
Read MoreSolar-Powered Pumping System Brings Clean Water to Community in Yemen
Yemen’s ongoing conflict had pushed the community of Al-Mahfad to undertake extreme measures to deal with water shortage. Residents were given access to water only once every four days, and water pumps were limited to operating only six hours per day. Not surprisingly, the burden of collecting water fell on women and children. “I used…
Read MoreReflections on Programming Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact communities beyond what many thought would be a few weeks of quarantine. As we recognize the second anniversary of the pandemic, we reflect on Global Communities’ country teams that are hard at work to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on their communities. We were able to…
Read MoreSupporting Displaced Livestock Breeders in Northwest Syria
Due to ongoing conflict and drought, the livestock assets of Syrians are eroding, further increasing the risk of food insecurity for people like Samira. The 30-year-old widow was displaced from her home in southern Idlib and currently lives in the Armanaz sub-district with her four children. While the family was able to bring livestock with…
Read MoreMentorship Program Offers a Helping Hand for Young Syrians
While the conflict in Syria has lasted more than a decade, protection risks remain high across the country and have been heightened by the coronavirus pandemic. With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA), Global Communities is currently implementing Response Operations for the Syria Emergency III (ROSE III) program…
Read MoreProgramming in Syria has Great Impact on Food Insecurity
A more than ten-year-long crisis in Syria has affected the country’s entire population. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed and millions have been displaced, fleeing to avoid the fighting. Displaced families make up two-thirds of the population of Northwest Syria. According to the 2020 Humanitarian Needs Overview, more than 9 million people are food insecure across…
Read MoreBank of Palestine launches “Palestine in the Heart” campaign in support of Humanitarian Relief efforts in Gaza & West Bank
This article was originally published on the Palestine News Network. Ramallah/PNN/ Bank of Palestine Group Launched “Palestine in the Heart” campaign to raise donations locally and globally in support of humanitarian relief and recovery efforts in Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Proceeds from the campaign will go to support relief and humanitarian assistance by…
Read More