Past Project

Emergency & Rapid Response Project

PTC has received a grant of £50,000  (272,400 $) from Muslim Aid(UK) to implement the rapid response project as soon as the Israeli war began on the Gaza strip. The project aimed at providing the war victims with emergency provisions, medical aid and psychosocial and recreational activities, especially after dramatic deterioration of humanitarian, socioeconomic and psychological conditions. 60195  children and parents have benefited from the project, from 31st December 2008 to 31st July 2009. Activities were implemented in Gaza north, middle area and Gaza city in three phases:

1) During the war, two therapeutic units were set up. One, at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ hospital in Deir El-Balah, gave psychological support to injured people and their relatives. Displaced families from bombed houses or threatened homes found shelter in UNRWA schools. Here they were given trauma counseling as well as educational and recreational activities. 21574 children, youths, men, women and elderly people benefited from this support.

2) After the war, activities of the second phase were implemented in different locations in the Gaza strip such as Gaza city, northern area (Beit Lahia, Attatra and Salateen) and Gaza middle area (Juhr El-Deik, Moghraqa and Nusseirat). The activities were based on psychosocial rehabilitation of the war victims through field visits to schools and kindergartens, recreational activities, awareness raising sessions with school teachers and parents in dealing with children in stressful conditions. 31076 children, parents and teachers have benefited and many traumatized cases, especially children, were referred to PTC for further psychosocial interventions.

3) Activities in the third phase aimed at dealing with cases referred to PTC’s therapeutic unit. This was operated by a psychiatrist, four psychologists and two social workers. Most of the cases had been identified as severe during the second phase. They had been subjected to direct traumas during the war and the majority of them lived in marginalized areas close to the Israeli border. 2545 have benefited from the psychosocial services in this last phase (230 children, 195 women, 70 men and 250 families).