August 2009 Trip Diary

by Bill Corcoran, ANERA President

Bill Corcoran (right) and Robert Crothers, ANERA's Middle East Representative, discuss early childhood education.

ANERA built Eizariyyeh Girls School in the West Bank through our USAID EWAS II program.

Items in a typical hygiene kit ANERA delivers throughout Gaza

A chicken cage specially designed by ANERA's Gaza staff.

Jerusalem
ANERA’s big USAID water and sanitation program (EWAS II) is accelerating in its implementation. USAID and the Palestinian Authority have approved the rehabilitation of three hospitals (in Beit Jala, Nablus and Jericho) and construction of three new schools. That with several water projects will infuse the West Bank from top to bottom with construction jobs and improved infrastructure. Both are desperately needed.

Several meetings in Ramallah focused on Early Childhood Education. We moved ahead specifically during time with the Minister of Education who endorsed the ANERA approach. We will co-host a late October conference that convenes many stakeholders to examine a process and next steps. The invitees will include universities, non-profits, educators, funders, government officials and preschool administrators. ANERA will subsidize the expense of the day-long meeting which should involve 80 people. The end result of the day will be the establishment of a Task Force broken into subcommittees that will address issues such as curriculum, certification, training, infrastructure, learning materials, community participation, etc.

We envision this effort to be a multi-year initiative that hopefully results in a transformation of early childhood education across the West Bank and, eventually, Gaza. The next day, the Ministry released an article in local newspapers about this initiative.

Gaza
Erez Crossing was empty of foreigners. I guess it’s not a popular place in the summer heat and during Ramadan.

Our warehouse is full of recent shipments that are now being distributed. The hygiene kits packaged in the West Bank contain household and individual items for cleanliness. Soap, shampoo, towels, feminine sanitary napkins, toothpaste are included in the $70/carton. This is a $600,000 grant from USAID.

Later, we visited one family of five children and a grandmother living with mom and dad in a one-room shack. They lived outside in the yard, reserving the home for clothes. ANERA has delivered thousands of chickens to hundreds of destitute families. At the home we visited, while the chickens seemed healthy, all the children had colds or worse and were running barefoot in the chicken manure. Their food being prepared for the evening Iftar was day-old bread crumbled and mixed with some eggs. Before we left, I noticed some of the staff quietly slip them some money.

Two interviews followed, one with Al Jazeera TV and the other with Al Watan newspaper which covers the Gulf. One reporter asked what Gaza should do to extricate itself from aid dependency. That was a theme carried throughout my time in Gaza – there is a growing concern that food baskets are creating a dependent culture that, coupled with depression, could kill the work ethic in the long term. These issues reinforced our plans to create agricultural projects that employ people while supplying the markets with locally produced goods.

Another theme that came up was pollution. It has become so pervasive that many prefer not to eat locally grown vegetables. Overuse of fertilizers, pesticides, and non-potable water have created cucumbers that taste foul. ANERA is considering a major compost project to accelerate the use of natural fertilizer. In combination with other efforts, we will fast forward several agricultural projects. 50% of fields continue to lie fallow after the bombings. They will require water well repairs, piping, tractor spare parts, etc. However, all of those need to be imported through Israeli security and border controls.

I visited one of the preschools we have recently rehabilitated. Al Shattie preschool occupies an UNRWA facility of 1948 vintage that was abandoned years ago. In recent years, the preschool has operated there with 70 students. It exists on a shoe-string which means no maintenance or repairs. ANERA’s engineers were able to employ a local contractor for $5,000 who restored their damaged zinc roof, re-plastered and painted the interior and exterior walls, and installed entirely new bathrooms with sinks/toilets.

One beautiful example of non-profits coordinating efforts has come out of our preschool rehab work. Save the Children asked us for a list of preschools where they could install “reverse osmosis” water systems that purify water and store it in tanks. Considering that much of Gaza’s water is undrinkable, Save’s offer is a valuable one. Save delivered a system to Al Shattie and will do so for nine other schools, based on our recommendation. At $2,500 per unit, this is a financially generous contribution as well.

We visited other schools participating in the Milk for Preschoolers program. I could see that the heat and the effects of fasting during Ramadan were taking their toll. Still, some children informed their teachers that they would take the milk home because they were fasting. Teachers intervened to convince them that they did not need to imitate Mom and Dad and that they were religiously exempt. Their tiny four-year-old bodies are suffering already from the embargo. Additional sacrifices would truly put them at risk.

Seven months after the war, the mental effects are very obvious. One child was playing with his biscuit by eating it into some form. After licking off the chocolate, he finished nibbling it into the shape of a gun. Thereupon, he proceeded to shoot his classmates.

LISTEN TO BILL SPEAKING ABOUT PRESCHOOL REHAB WORK >>

The day after, in a psychosocial session among 10-year-old children, the group was limbering up with ice breaker activities. Apparently one boy was embarrassed by not performing well at some task. His response was to point his fingers like a gun and shoot everyone in the room.

ANERA’s psychosocial program has moved to several new sites. While the tents continue to operate, the counselors are also setting up shop in community centers near schools. In this way, they can meet with children both before and after school. Most of the children are educated in shifts because of overcrowding. So, we see them at 10 am or at 4 pm. Sadly, they only receive three hours of school per day.

LISTEN TO BILL SPEAKING ABOUT ANERA'S PSYCHOSOCIAL WORK >>

Driving from the south toward Gaza City, we rolled up the windows. Raw sewage pumped into the ocean has backed up on to the shore. The potent stench travels for miles. Those normally aqua colored waters are literally brown for meters into the Mediterranean.

Several Gazans suggested I not eat fish any longer. No wonder their catches are also diminishing. Without a massive investment in treatment facilities, it will only worsen for Palestinians and the residents of Ashkelon/Tel Aviv.

The staff continue to amaze me with their resiliency. Regardless, we are hiring additional people to spread the load as they implement so many new and labor intensive projects.

Read President Corcoran's trip report from January 2010 >>

Read President Corcoran's trip report from October 2009 >>

Read President Corcoran's trip report from May 2009 >>

Read President Corcoran's Gaza trip report from February 2009 >>