Helping the Helpers in Gaza

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

Ambulance drivers in Gaza learn soft-belly meditation techniques to help mitigate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Fred Rogers, best known for his television show Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, once told his young audience: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” These words of wisdom are comforting to the young and old alike—when bad things happen, it is reassuring to remember that there are good and kind people in the world. Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, LHI has learned there is another reason to look for the helpers: those who respond in times of crisis are likely to need help themselves.

Doctors, nurses, first responders, and other aid workers in Gaza are not only responding to situations that are dangerous, stressful, and frightening, but they and their families are also living in those same situations. These helpers in Gaza are at an increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The symptoms of PTSD, which include chronic pain, dizziness, headaches, irritability, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating, can get in the way of these helpers doing their jobs. And, unfortunately, in Gaza where borders and movement in and out are tightly controlled, Gazan first responders are the most consistent deliverers of aid and services in the region.

First responders attend a Mind-Body workshop.

Lifting Hands International has partnered with the Center For Mind-Body Medicine to provide psychological first aid for first responders in Gaza. Beneficiaries participate in Emergency Mind-Body Self-Care Workshops or Mind-Body Skills groups where they learn techniques for mitigating the effects of PTSD.

We’ve heard from some of the aid workers in Gaza who have completed these trainings. 

Salah, a 36-year-old resident of the northern Gaza Strip, in Jabalia Camp, works for the Red Crescent Society as a first responder. 

“Before attending the Mind-Body Workshop, I used to go out to treat the injured in a reckless manner without taking care of myself. It’s a miracle I survived. After learning and practicing the skills of the Mind-body, especially self-care, breathing and relaxation exercises, I began to take more care of myself, and come to myself, before going out to treat the injured. This has allowed me to better protect myself, staying as safe as others, and continue to be able to provide services to others. 

 Niveen, 38 years old, an administrative professional at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) shelter, said:

“I am a resident of Khan Yunis, and when the ground invasion and violent bombing began there, and my house was subjected to artillery shelling, I, my husband, and my children fled to Rafah. I have had so much stress, especially given our difficult living conditions ever since. I became more nervous, feeling terrified around the clock. I felt alienated from myself, my children, and my family, and I lost interest in myself and passion for life.

After joining the Mind-Body Group, I began to feel more self-assurance, and inner peace. I became more interested in myself and my family again. I practiced the self-care exercises I learned, and I started giving time to my hobbies. Now I am able to spread hope and optimism to my family, friends, and coworkers.”

Najat, 50 years old, a social worker at UNRWA shelter, said:

“I fled my home in Khan Yunis Governorate after my home was bombed with missiles, bombs, and flash bombs. I fled and left my home, my belongings, and my memories. I fled with my family to escape death. I moved to our relatives’ house, thinking that their house would be safer, but we were followed by bombing and explosions, as a house right next to us was bombed. I felt so unsafe, fearful, and I suffered from lack of sleep, anxiety, stress, fear, and increased nervousness with my children and husband.

After my family and I went to stay in the shelter center and I began working in there as a social worker, I joined Mind-Body Group. After practicing the skills they taught, I began to feel better in dealing with life and work stressors. I began to feel that there was hope in life, and that I will someday return to my home and restore it.”

LHI is committed to helping the helpers in Gaza, but we need your help to continue providing Center for Mind-Body workshops to aid workers and first responders. You can help by donating to our Gaza Emergency Response campaign. Any amount helps us keep this important work going. 

LHI Looks Back on 2023

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

LHI’s COO Walker, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Jaron, and Founder and Director Hayley distributed aid to survivors of the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria in February.

Looking back over the past year, we cannot believe all you have helped us to do! Here are the highlights!

The LHI Community Center in Serres, Greece

LHI’s Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Jaron and founder of our Utah programs Carlissa lent some elbow grease to improvement projects at the LHI Community Center in Serres.

It was a year of continued growth and innovation at the LHI Community Center, which is located near two refugee camps in Serres, Greece. The LHI Greece team was thrilled to receive new computers for the education program and new shelving for the community center’s aid warehouse. After talking with the women who attend programs at the Female Friendly Space, the team also adjusted the way we distribute clothing, school supplies, baby items and other aid. Instead of handing out parcels, the team instead created “free shops” where beneficiaries can select their own items. This small change not only provides people with a sense of dignity, but also brings a lot of excitement and joy.

The LHI Greece team set up a free shop where parents could shop for baby items including these handmade teddy bears.

utah programs

LHI team members and volunteers loaded this container of aid for Jordan in October.

Our Utah team prepared and shipped 18 containers of material aid to places like Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya refugees living in a large refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar were impacted by a fire in March, Afghanistan, where 6.6 million people have been internally displaced by conflict and natural disasters, and Gaza, where over 80% of the population has been displaced. The team also sent 7 shipments to the US/Mexico border to help shelters there provide warm clothing, hygiene products, and baby kits to migrants.

The US Office for Refugee Resettlement provides local resettlement agencies with a list of items that must be in apartments of resettled refugees. If the items aren't donated, they must be purchased from the family's small stipend. LHI's Utah team relies on donations from you to keep our warehouse stocked so that we can provide all the items resettled refugees need!

The Welcome Program has grown so much that we had to expand our warehouse! So far this year, LHI volunteers have set up 285 apartments for refugees resettling in Utah. And, in addition to our long-standing partnerships with the International Rescue Committee and Catholic Community Services, LHI is now working with Cache Refugee and Immigrant Connection to make sure that resettled refugees in Logan, Utah come home to an apartment furnished with everything they need.

ukraine

The battery powered incubators you helped us provide put to good use at Bashtanka Hospital in Mykolaiv, Ukraine.

Last year, we asked you to help us get Ukrainians through a cold and uncertain winter and you responded! We were able to provide generators, battery powered infant incubators, sleeping bags and long underwear throughout Ukraine. Our teams in Ukraine have also been able to get consistent material, medical and psychological aid to frontline communities all year long.

LHI's Ukraine country director Serhii (center) organized LHI's response to the dam collapse, including finding this truck which pumped thousands of tons of water out of homes and businesses.

When the Kakhovka Dam in Kherson province ruptured in June, our teams responded not only by helping those displaced from their homes, but also by pumping thousands of tons of water out of homes and businesses. 

Moldova

Participants in the Story Time Project performed some of the Ukranian folk tales they had read for family and friends!

Looking back on all the work our Moldova team has done with Ukrainian refugees, it is hard to believe that our community center in Balti and our Storytime Project are not even a year old! Both programs provide social emotional support activities for participants and keep Ukrainian language and culture alive.

Children at the LHI Community Center in Balti participate in a yoga class, part of the social emotional supports offered to Ukrainian refugees.

jordan

LHI Founder and Director Hayley Smith toured one of the modular classrooms LHI was able to build for Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

In Jordan, it’s all about kids and kids! The first set of kids are the Syrian refugee children who have benefitted from the 3 modular classrooms we built this year. Because Jordanian schools are already at capacity, building classrooms means that Syrian children can attend school. 

This family turned the 2 milk goats they received from LHI into a herd of 25 in just 2 years!

The second set of kids are the 1,200 Shami milk goats we have distributed to Syrian refugee families. The families who benefited had been goat herders in Syria, but had to leave their herds behind when they fled civil war. Having milk goats allows these families to improve their family’s nutrition and move towards self-sufficiency as they sell milk and grow their herd. One family we visited this year had turned the two milk goats they received two years ago into 25! The income they earned from goat milk and goat products allowed them to leave the refugee camp and rent a home. 

emergency response

LHI's COO Walker distributed aid to an earthquake survivor in Turkey.

LHI specializes in responding to emergency situations quickly, talking to the people impacted, and finding out what they most need. In February, we were able to assist both Turkish and Syrian people impacted by earthquakes by providing medical and psychological first aid, hygiene kits, and food packages. 

LHI responded to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza quickly, finding partners on the ground to help us source aid and get it to civilians who need it in Gaza.

In October, we arrived in Egypt and got right to work finding the right partners to help us get aid to the over one million people displaced in the Gaza Strip. We established a partnership with the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA) who helped us get food and medicine into Gaza.

We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You!

Whether you are an LHI volunteer or a donor, whether you’ve tied blankets or assembled hygiene kits for a service project, or whether you are a partner or a grant provider, you are a part of our team. Thank you for your support this year. We look forward to working together again in 2024 to meet needs around the world. No politics. Simply humanitarian.

5 Facts About Gaza

by Brigid Rowlings, LHI Communications Director

As soon as the scale of the humanitarian emergency in Gaza was apparent, LHI’s Founder and Director Hayley Smith and Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Jaron Malyon were on the ground in Egypt vetting organizations and developing partnerships that would quickly get humanitarian aid into southern Gaza and ensure that aid was distributed to civilians in need.

Our continuous efforts in Gaza involve distributing essential aid through with local organizations linked to the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescents. Through our partnerships, we're delivering critical items like ready-to-eat food, medicines, and vitamins directly to those in need.

In partnership with the Middle East Children’s Alliance, we're addressing child malnutrition with medications, vitamins, and fortified foods. Swift relief, including ready-to-eat food, fresh vegetables, and hygiene supplies, is being provided both inside and outside of Gaza. We are also preparing essential food boxes.

To learn more about our ongoing efforts and support initiatives in Gaza, visit our dedicated Emergency Response page.

5 Facts about Gaza. 

The history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine is long and complex, and we encourage you to learn more about the history. 

All facts accurate as of November 10, 2023.

A section of fence that separates the Gaza Strip from Israel.

Image Credit: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images

1. People Can’t Leave the Gaza Strip

Since 2007, Gaza has been under an indefinite blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt. Until October 7, 2023, 17,000 Gazans had work permits for Israel, but now, no one can leave. Even if they could, there's fear of not being able to return. A few severely injured individuals were recently taken to Egypt, after weeks of negotiations for foreign passport holders to leave, with some still stuck in Gaza.

2. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was critical even before October 7 .

In 1948, many Palestinian refugees fled to Gaza, forming a significant part of the population. Gaza has experienced multiple invasions and occupations until 2005 when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered a complete disengagement.

In 2006, Hamas gained a substantial number of seats in Palestine's parliamentary elections, subsequently taking full control of the Gaza Strip. Most of the international community has now designated Hamas a terrorist organization, leading to aid cutoffs. A recent poll shows that many Gazans do not support Hamas due to reduced aid and support. And, since there have been no elections since 2006, Gazans have not had an opportunity to vote and choose their leaders for the past 17 years.

Representatives from our partner Middle East Children’s Alliance distribute aid to a Gazan mother whose family has been displaced.

3. An estimated 1.5 million Gazans have become displaced since October 7.

Rocket strikes, destroyed homes and neighborhoods, a decimated healthcare system, and low supplies of food and water are some reasons people have become displaced. On October 13, IDF planes dropped leaflets in northern Gaza advising residents to move south ahead of a ground invasion, which also contributed to the displacement of so many people.

4. The healthcare system has been decimated.

Nearly half of Gaza’s hospitals and over 70% of primary care facilities have shut down because of damage from airstrikes, dwindling fuel supplies, and simply from running out of medicine entirely. Remaining hospitals are barely functional, conducting surgeries, even for children, without anesthesia. The lack of essentials like water and iodine hampers the ability to provide sanitary care.

Dr. Mohammed Qandil at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis told the New York Times: “We are making hard decisions…All the people who come here, we cannot save them. The hospital doors are open, but the care we are able to give — it is negligible.”

Children and families have sought refuge at schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency within Gaza. These children walk amongst debris from a recent airstrike.

Image credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

5. Children are disproportionately affected by the crisis.

According to a 2021 report by the Euro-Med Monitor, 91% of children in Gaza were already suffering from conflict-related trauma. 

A recent  study found that 51% of Palestinian children had a friend or acquaintance die from political or military violence even before the current conflict began. “[Children’s] sense of the world is shattered. They don't feel secure in their families. They don't feel secure in their relationships with others. They're constantly on guard.”