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Save the Children Delivers Food to Families in Gaza Despite Violence
JERUSALEM (Jan. 4, 2009) — Save the Children staff members today began delivering much-needed food to children and families in Gaza, despite continued violence.
On Sunday staff members delivered food parcels to 641 families — or nearly 6,000 people, including over 3,000 children — in Gaza City, east Jebaliya, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Umm Al Nasser. However, air assaults and ground fighting are making movement dangerous for needy families and Save the Children staff trying to assist them.
"The situation has reached a critical level for children who are exposed to and experiencing violence, fear and uncertainty," said Annie Foster, Save the Children's team leader for the emergency response. "Parents are facing enormous challenges to protecting and caring for their children. Either they cannot leave their house to attend to basic needs for fear of being caught in the crossfire, or they are being forced from their homes, into harm's way, to find shelter."
Dwindling resources in homes are increasing the vulnerability of children, as is the collapse of Gaza's electricity and sanitation infrastructure. Save the Children warns that lack of electricity for heating at night presents a hypothermia risk for children, particularly babies and newborns.
"The cold only adds to the stress and health threats — including scarce food and water and a lack of sanitation — faced by children and their parents in Gaza," added Foster. "Families must leave windows open at night so that they will not be broken by percussive shocks or flying debris from the ongoing bombardment. This means that children, the majority of them poor and malnourished, are essentially spending the night exposed to the elements."
Even before the latest outbreak of violence, 50,000 Gazan children were malnourished; more than two-thirds of all children suffered from vitamin A deficiency and almost half of children under age 2 were anemic. Lack of access to food, clean water and medical supplies exacerbates threats to children's health and well-being.
Save the Children is calling for a peaceful solution to the current crisis that endangers the lives of nearly every child in Gaza, and the lives of Israeli children in areas subject to attacks. Save the Children is calling for a cessation of hostilities by all parties including air and ground assaults from Israel and rocket attacks from Gaza. The agency is seeking free access for humanitarian assistance to allow aid agencies to provide much-needed relief to vulnerable children.
Since the fighting began, 59 children have been killed, according to Gaza health officials and major news media. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports that some 2,000 Gazan families have been displaced. Many families have taken in relatives and neighbors, adding to the household burden and stress on parents and children.
Once a humanitarian corridor opens, Save the Children also will work to provide baby hygiene kits, household kits and safe play kits.
On Dec. 31, Save the Children, which has worked in the region for more than 30 years, launched a $10 million fundraising appeal for Gaza as the humanitarian crisis deepened for thousands of children affected by the conflict. Of the 1.5 million people living in Gaza, a large majority of families are dependent on food aid from agencies like Save the Children.
Save the Children needs your support to help us meet the most critical needs of children and families in Gaza. Your donation will help us provide drinking water, improved sanitation, food distribution and other necessities.
Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) is the leading, independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has worked to improve the lives of children and their families through programs in health, education and economic opportunities, and during times of crisis and conflict. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 100 countries.
