This is what we found in Mohamed Alareer's house when we visited him  in  Alshaaf area to the East of the Gaza City. Mohamed was nominated by local partner organization for the house repairing project . His family consists of 10 members, 6 of them are under the age 18. Mohamed has no work and depends on humanitarian aid to feed his children.  During the last war on Gaza , his house has been targeted with phosphorous  by the Israeli Army missiles and two departments were  partially destroyed.

After the war,  he lives with his family in the ground floor with his son who is married, the place is too small that the family cannot adapt living in. Mohammed Alareer is financially unable to repair his house and is waiting international organization to help in repairing the house. American Friends Service committee Quakers  has decided to include his house in the House Repairing project as he deserves that besides his case meets the criteria of the project.

Alareer Family feels happy and welcomes us saying that it will be a good thing to make their life better and comfortable. After the field visits assessment, we decided to build the big holes and plaster them, painting the burnt black room and make a door and window and  the finishing for the department.

Honestly, the money we have for each house does not cover the needs of repairing the house completely, but the house becomes suitable to live in and it protects the family from the cold of winter.

What surprised me when I visited him to put the poster of the project and to sign the implementation contract, that he decided to complete repairing the house saying, “ Quakers encourages me to make recovery and repair my house" 

Here is another sad story, Akram Khader's family who lives in Beitlahia to the  north of the Gaza Strip. The father was killed during the war when Israeli Army targeted his house by a missile. The family escaped from the house and the father refused to get out  in order to take care of the house. The family came back and found their father dead.  The missile partially destroyed the house. We, in the project build the big holes and make a door and a window enabling the family to live safely in the house.

All families live sad and horrible conditions during the war. Besides, all families are still affected as a result of the Israeli siege which is imposed since July2007. They are suffering from the lack of food, medicine and construction materials as a result of closing borders and preventing entry of basic materials by the Israeli occupation.

 House repairing project is a joint project between AFSC and AFSC’s partner youth groups engaged in Youth Bank and funded by UUSC in August 2009.

The main goal of the project is to re-establish a sense of normalcy in the lives of people, especially young people, aftermath the recent war in Gaza, by engaging youth in the physical reconstruction of their communities.