Gaza Urban Gardens is a project supported by UMCOR to help women provide a sustainable source of income and nutrition for families. It provides them with plants and animals such as rabbits and chickens. Women use rooftops or other small strips of land around the house for their food production. If the have sufficient land they can receive other animals such as goats or sheep. Green houses are also provided which allow food production all year round. Gaza Urban Gardens also provide technical assistance.
Members of Church of the Redeemer have supported projects in Palestine. Since 2014 the people of Gaza have been under siege from repeated missile strikes against homes, schools, hospitals, and clinics. The people of Gaza are in a prison, unable to leave and governed by Hamas who shoot rockets into Israel and hold a tight rein over the population. At the same time Israel uses any sign of resistance as an opportunity to destroy a population. That is why a mission to help women support their families is so important. There is a Palestinian word “samoud” which is a slogan meaning steadfastness. A Palestinian woman once told us: “One day we will be free, maybe another 60 years, maybe 100, but we are steadfeast.”
Text adapted from Mary Ann Kerr and Douglas Kerr.