Supporter: Mirjam Hendrikse

Jasem Humeid, our Psychosocial Programme Manager, is one of just two people selected for the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Advocates Programme in Palestine. Photo: Mirjam Hendrikse/Mercy Corps

I am very proud to share that one of Mercy Corps’ senior managers in Gaza has been chosen to be a focal person for the Mental Health Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Advocates Programme in Palestine. Jasem Humeid, our Psychosocial Programme Manager, is one of the two Advocates selected for Gaza — which is a great honor and reflects clearly the capacity of Mercy Corps and its staff in this sector.

The aim of this programme is to determine the best mental health and psychosocial practices in using the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines in emergency and post-emergency response. By participating in the Advocates programme, Jasem is increasing his capacity in adopting the IASC MHPSS Guidelines and use them as a strategic planning framework to develop initiatives for planning and programming within Mercy Corps and more broadly in the Gaza Strip.

Jasem is an advocate for the use of these guidelines and will implement a joint plan of action ensuring all MHPSS organisations in the Gaza Strip are using the guidelines appropriately.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (comprised of UN and non-UN humanitarian organisations) was established in 1992 to strengthen inter-agency decision making and coordination of humanitarian assistance. Its ultimate objective is to improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. Guidelines are used to plan, establish and coordinate multi-sectoral response based on minimum standards.

The IASC guidelines for mental health and psychosocial support were established in 2007. Core principles of the guidelines are:

• Human Rights and Equity
• Do No Harm
• Build on available resources and capacities
• Integrated support systems
• Multi-layered support

During a five-day training in Amman, Jordan in April, Jasem — together with other Advocates from the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria — prepared for his new responsibilities in Gaza. Now, a few months later, he has already achieved a lot.

Mercy Corps staff, as well as staff from other (international) organisations, have been made aware of the guidelines and are trained to use them. Jasem and his counterpart in Gaza conducted training during one of the MHPSS cluster meetings in which most of the stakeholders in this sector in Gaza participate. Under Mercy Corps’ own psychosocial programme, funded by the European Commission’s DG for Humanitarian Assistance and Civil Protection (ECHO), 24 staff from local partners were trained as well.

A knowledge test with twelve questions conducted before and after the training showed remarkable results. Before the training, participants were only able to answer between one and three questions correct. Several people could not provide a single good answer. After the training 21 participants (88 percent) answered all questions in the correct way! Two people were able to provide eleven good answers, and one person provided nine good answers.

In line with IASC MHPSS guidelines, and thanks to Jasem’s efforts, Mercy Corps is now better able to conduct relevant and effective interviews for new Mercy Corps psychosocial staff. We are also ensuring that the guidelines are followed while writing project reports and new project proposals. New psychosocial projects will take into account the guidelines and will be implemented in close coordination with other organisations active in this sector as well.

Although the focus of recent trainings has been on mental health and psychosocial support sector stakeholders, it is important to integrate psychosocial considerations into other sectors such as health, education, shelter, food, water and sanitation. This is something that Jasem, with his counterpart, will be working on in the coming months.

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Since February 2009, immediately after Operation Cast Lead, Mercy Corps in Gaza has been implementing a comprehensive psychosocial programme funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The programme provided emergency psychosocial assistance to over 20,000 children, youth, and family members across the Gaza Strip.

During the final months of the programme, the Mercy Corps psychosocial team expressed an eagerness to show a larger public the activities that were being implemented and the impact that these activities were having on (the behaviour of) children and families affected by the Gaza War. At the same time, Maurice Jacobsen, an American independent filmmaker, walked into our Gaza office and asked if we were interested in working together to make sure that stories about people’s life in Gaza were shared with the rest of the world.

Our partnership resulted in a 25-minute video following five children as they participate in our programme and go through the journey of self-discovery and healing.

Here is the 6-minute abbreviated version, posted on our YouTube site:

And here is the 25-minute version, posted on a free video site that contains ads:

The story is told through the eyes of Roba, Soad, Abeer, Monzer and Hala. They are young Gazans, between the ages of 12 and 15, who live with their families in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Using the Comfort for Kids (C4K) workbook as a focal point, the children all share information about their lives with us. While they are telling their story, their homes are visited, their parents or neighbours interviewed, their participation in the psychosocial support sessions shown.

The psychosocial programme ended successfully in March 2010. But the video illustrates the continuous need for our activities. It illustrates the importance of the programme, as well as its impact and effectiveness.

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Roba wants to be an English teacher. Soad a lawyer. Abeer a psychological therapist, and Monzer a doctor. Hala has not yet decided what she wants to do in the future, but for now is determined to achieve the highest scores in school.

Although Roba, Soad, Abeer, Monzer and Hala have very different aspirations for the future, they have many things in common as well. They are young Gazans, between the ages of 12 and 15, and live with their families in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Their daily lives have been profoundly affected by the Israeli military blockade. Through the restrictions on import of basic goods into Gaza, for example. Or the travel restrictions, as people are only able to leave Gaza if they obtain rare medical or religious permission.

Making conditions even more difficult in Gaza, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has over the years lead to many fatalities (including children). A large number of homes and schools was destroyed. Roba, Soad, Abeer, Monzer and Hala have all been exposed to violence and injury. They grew up deprived of the basic requirements needed for life.

And there is something else that Roba, Soad, Abeer, Monzer and Hala have in common. They all participated in Mercy Corps psychosocial programme, attending guided psychosocial sessions over a period of at least six months.

Evaluation results show that the programme played a significant, and overwhelmingly positive, role in the children’s lives. Parents reported that their children demonstrated significantly fewer behavioural problems, and more positive behaviours, at the end of the programme than they did at the beginning. This enabled Roba, Soad, Abeer, Monzer and Hala to focus more on the future again, instead of remembering past events.

Roba wants to travel. She wants to study abroad and become the best English teacher there is. She also wants the border crossings to open “so that all the injured people in Gaza can receive the necessary treatment. I want them to be cured and come back to Gaza feeling happy.”

Abeer was inspired by the psychosocial programme and wants to follow in the footsteps of Mercy Corps staff. “I want to help children so that they can express themselves more easily. I want to help eliminate some of their psychosocial problems. Children should not have any worries on their mind.”

Hala wants the old days to come back, “when all the crossings were still open and people could go wherever they wanted to go. Including me. I want to travel and see beautiful places.”

Monzer is eager to help the people who are injured. “I want to make sure that families are not losing their loved ones. I want to reduce the pain that people feel and see smiles on their faces instead.”

Soad is dreaming of being a lawyer, so she can achieve justice in her society. “We are different from people in other countries, but I wish I was like the rest of the children in the world. I want to see other countries, be free to travel like everybody else.”

If you want to find out more about the lives of Roba, Abeer, Hala, Monzer and Soad, please watch our documentary For the Children of Gaza.

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Mohamed Azaizeh. Photo: Mirjam Hendrikse/Mercy Corps

Mohamed Azaizeh is Mercy Corps’ Project Officer for the UK Department for International Development (DFID)-funded psychosocial project in the Gaza Strip. Mohamed joined Mercy Corps in February 2009 — immediately after the Gaza War — to take on a leading role implementing one of the larger emergency response programmes. I have worked with him since I arrived in Gaza a few months later.

With the results of the midterm evaluation report published a short while ago, and the project coming to an end soon, Mohamed is eager to share his experience with others:

“It has been an incredible learning process for me since I joined Mercy Corps. After the Gaza War, I was committed to support children who were suffering from psychosocial problems. It was my wish to help them change their behaviour in a positive way and help them lead a normal life again. With my background as an Occupational Therapist, this psychosocial project was a perfect fit for me.”

“In the first few months of implementation, I was not sure if our small team would be able to reach all our project goals. It was a challenging experience to work with 16 different community-based organisations (CBOs) in three different areas of the Gaza Strip. We worked with over 50 CBO facilitators to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of almost 4,500 children and their families. But together with my team members, and with the help of senior Mercy Corps staff, I believe we have made a difference."

"I feel that because all of us have the same goal, we are able to do what we do so well. The DFID project team is one of the best I have ever worked with!”

The midterm project evaluation report, published at the end of 2009, confirms that efforts of Mohamed and his team have paid off. Almost 70 percent of the parents of children attending psychosocial sessions reported that their children demonstrated significantly fewer behavioural problems — as well as more positive behaviours — at the end of the first project phase than they did at the beginning. Mohamed continues:

“Since the Gaza War, there are several international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) that are implementing psychosocial programmes. There are only a few who are implementing their activities by working closely with local CBOs — Mercy Corps is one of them. More importantly, we have a clear focus on building the capacity of our CBOs, so that at the end of the project they can do this important work themselves.”

Mohamed Azaizeh trains some of the community-based organisation (CBO) facilitators who will help improve the psychosocial well-being of almost 4,500 children and their families. Photo: Mirjam Hendrikse/Mercy Corps

“One of the highlights for us and the CBO facilitators has been our work with the Comfort for Kids materials. These were developed by experienced Mercy Corps staff in the United States, but with significant input from us in Gaza. It feels very empowering to be a part of such an important process and we are proud that we have played such an important role in the development of materials that are now used by thousands of children and parents in the Gaza Strip.”

The design and monitoring of the project’s impact, including the mid-term evaluation, has been undertaken with close and active involvement of the Institute of International Health and Development at Queen Margaret University (QMU) in the UK; an innovation that allowed Mercy Corps to learn from their expertise in this area. Mohamed describes the relationship:

“We have been very lucky with the involvement of QMU. With the Comfort for Kids materials being used for the first time in Gaza, it was essential for us to monitor and evaluate our activities in the best possible way. QMU has provided us with the tools and skills necessary, and helped us with the analysis of data collected. Mercy Corps is ensuring that our project team is learning as much as possible from QMU’s involvement. The organisation is helping us to help our own people. In future psychosocial projects we hope that we can do most of the monitoring and evaluation work ourselves!”

“The outcomes of the midterm evaluation demonstrate that we have reached great results. But it also shows us where we can still improve our work. Not all the CBOs that we are working with are performing in the same excellent way. We need to provide the CBOs that face more difficulties with additional support. This is what we have been working on in the past few months. I hope that the team and I will be able to use everything that we have learned with Mercy Corps in other psychosocial programmes.

"Our DFID-funded project comes to an end in March, but the need for psychosocial support in Gaza remains.”

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Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses is the title of the latest report on Gaza, one year after Operation Cast Lead, the three-month military conflict between Israel and Hamas. It was published by a range of international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), including Mercy Corps.

Young Gazan boys steer a horse cart carrying a water tank, provided by Mercy Corps' relief programme. Photo: Mirjam Hendrikse/Mercy Corps

I am reading the report after another day of food and non-food distributions in Gaza. This week, Mercy Corps is distributing livelihood packages in Khan Younis, the southern part of the Gaza Strip, with funding from ARD and USAID. Last week, more than 750 families received packages in east Gaza. Next week, the same number of packages will be distributed in the northern area. After the final distributions, at least 2,450 Gazans will have received three bags of food and a carton of goods to support their often-large families.

But it is just a drop in the ocean. There are 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip, of which many are in need. Besides, the food packages are expected to last a family only between two weeks and a month.

The blockade, imposed since 2007, has significantly reduced the volume and range of goods coming into Gaza. The shops are only selling a limited number of products and what is available is expensive. Not everybody can buy these items, especially not the hundreds of thousands of families who lost their jobs due to the damage done to the private sector in January. It happens almost daily, that I am being asked to bring things from the West Bank. The requests vary: from food, to medicine, to cosmetics, to spare parts for cars.

Since Operation Cast Lead, Mercy Corps has distributed a large number of food and non-food items such as rice, sugar, pasta, olive oil and burgul, kitchen utensils and hygiene products, as well as blankets, children’s toys and water tanks. At least 10,000 families throughout Gaza have benefitted from this support. It was hoped that by now, this type of humanitarian assistance would not be necessary anymore. Unfortunately the opposite is true.

The drive from today’s distribution site in Khan Younis to Mercy Corps’ office in Gaza City took only 30 minutes. In that time, I spotted at least five places were other (international) organisations were distributing much-needed goods to Gazan families. Flour and rice mostly; basic items that everybody should have in their house. Still, when talking to men and women in Khan Younis, people seemed most happy with the kitchenware and toys for their children that they received.

One way or another, it is a relief to see all these organisations working towards to same goal: reducing the suffering of the people of Gaza. Whether it is through the distribution of goods, or the publication of a report to urge the larger international community to take action as well.

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