CW PROJECTS UNWRAPPED

Supporting childrens' education for those with disabilities (Palestine) - 2019

Palestinian children with disabilities are one of the most marginalized and excluded groups of children, further aggravated by social exclusion and limited access to supportive services. This project tackled this by improving access to education through conducting an assessment of needs, producing a plan for educational inclusivity, and rehabilitating special education centers.

Case Study

Mrs. Samah says “ Our school offers services to 140 students with hearing disability, learning difficulties and intellectual disabilities as it is licensed from the Ministry of Education and located in a vital region at Al-Nuseirat camp.
Fire had broken out last March in the school due to the gas explosion 50 meters away from the school which led to the burning of all the classrooms, that made the school unsafe to welcome students.

Islamic Relief stood by our side and supported us. They visited the school again after the accident to evaluate the situation and they immediately started the maintenance works for classrooms and then they brought furniture and stationary”. 

This project is the first step to support the educational services for children with disabilities in Gaza and to take part in developing the quality of reaching people with disabilities’ level in order to develop students with disabilities lives through various activities like:

1. Conducting an evaluation study for private education in Gaza.  
2. Preparing a developmental plan for private teaching field. 
3. Developing some schools and centers at Gaza strip through providing them with furniture and devices that work on developing educational services for students with disabilities.  

Non-food items support for newly displaced families (Syria) - 2019

Idlib saw a second wave of displaced Syrians arriving in the city in late 2019, adding to the existing 1.5 million already taking refuge there. This project has contributed to providing vital, non-food items to help children survive the harsh winter conditions, including emergency shelter, tents and mattresses for 846 families (4,619 individuals).

Case Study

Abu Samer, father of 5 tells us his story:

"I was forced to flee from my dear city, Ma'rat al-Numan, where I grew up and married the girl I loved and gave birth to five children who vowed my life to raise and care for them.

This war displaced my family, my relatives, and my family. We went out under the cover of night, artillery shells, and explosive missiles from warplanes pouring down everywhere ... we survived ...

We got out of the clothes we had and couldn't carry any luggage with us. We went with thousands of displaced people to the north of Syria. We did not know what to do. We were just fleeing warplanes and their missiles falling over our heads.

We settled near one of the villages, there were no tents, we slept in ruined buildings. The village was crowded with displaced people, we stayed under trees for several days, and a humanitarian organization provided blankets and some bedding for us while the tents were secured.

Life differed a lot here, we did not familiarize this life, it is very difficult, and completely different from what we were living in previous years before the start of this war.

We were pleased with what our Islamic relief provided us with (our bedding, blankets, and plastic insulators). They are very important for us in our simple lives.

In fact, these things make a big difference, as they change the lives of a displaced family for the better, much better than they are in this camp."

Eradicating Hepatitis Programme (Pakistan)

Hepatitis is an uncontrolled disease in Pakistan and one of the country's greatest health concerns; this project targeted communities affected by Hepatitis B & C, seeking to educate them on the disease and improve access to screening services, with the objective of reducing its spread. Despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, screening camps were successfully set up, targeting a population 6,500 of the most vulnerable. Community health groups were also mobilised and trained.

Case Study

A Community Health Group of fifteen members, all female of different age groups shared their thoughts. Members were widows and are from the Orphan Support Program of IR Pakistan. They each have different sources of income. One member Naseema Akhter is school teacher, some of them are tailors trained by a Islamic Relief project. They are able to earn some amount to meet their basic needs. 

Group members told us that: "through IR Pakistan we became group members and when we came to know about this project. We got as excited as we had no such facility available before. We didn’t even know about the spread/causes of this disease before. We thought this disease is same as hepatitis A and E which spreads through oral route from using contaminated water and food. After we became members of the group and got one day Capacity building training on Hepatitis B and C, we came to know in detail about this disease, its spread and its treatment and how can we stop it from spreading to other people. Still majority of the people believe that Hepatitis B and C can be treated by consuming water from certain spring water (natural water sources from mountains) located in different areas of the nearby mountains. Some still believe that there is no treatment of this disease. The group members are now communicating the knowledge they have learned during these trainings about hepatitis B and C and are very happy that we will get free screening and treatment of Hepatitis B and C."