Stories from the Field

According to recent statistics around 200,000 women migrant domestic workers live in Lebanon working as housemaids, and nannies. The domestic nature of their work creates special relationships with their employers. Most migrant workers reside with a family, as the contract they sign requires that their employers to offer a shelter.

The Lebanese government recently approved a unified contract for all migrant workers, the purpose of which is to regulate both the work and living conditions of the workers. The contract was a response to the demands of human rights activists, and their campaigns to stop the slavery like working conditions which many researches and investigations have proven exists for many migrant workers throughout Lebanon.

Women living in Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and many other poor countries, often seek work opportunities abroad, especially in those countries which enjoy a stronger currency with an exchange rate closer to that of the dollar. By doing so, their simple wages in these new countries will be translated into a good sum of money when it is sent back home.

These women are identified by companies that work as mediators between families in search of domestic assistance, and women that are seeking work opportunities. They are matched on the basis of a criteria set out by the family, and knowledge of a second language often plays a key role. The nationality of the workers is closely tied to the wages they are offered; as a result, the poorer the country of origin is, the lower the wage that is likely to be offered.

Migrant women arrive in Lebanon and are immediately sent to their employer’s residence, a space where familial relationships take place, and thus the blurry line between being an employee, and living in the family home, soon becomes less clear. As a result of the familial ties, it becomes difficult for the employer to set working hours for an employee that “lives” with them, and being a domestic worker where the sole responsibility of your work is to provide care leads to the extension of working hours to such an extent that it can often reach 20 hours per day. The employer becomes not the only the head of the household, but all those who live within the household, each with specific demands of “care” which must be provided.

Working in such conditions can lead to a certain amount of tension within the household, and a migrant worker that is responsible for providing care to a number of individuals will be performing her tasks to the point of exhaustion and despair. This stress and tension is often unconsidered by the family, and they regularly end in utter tragedies. According to an unpleasant statistic in a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) more than one migrant domestic worker in Lebanon each week commits suicide. Many of these suicides are carried out by migrant workers throwing themselves off of balconies in a desperate attempt to end their terrible living conditions.

An initiative took place from April 24th to the 1st of May 2010 in Lebanon named the 24/7 campaign to shed light on the disturbing living conditions of women migrant workers in Lebanon. The campaign made use of the virtual as much as the physical realm. A tweeting and a blogging campaign took place for six days in order to post information and stories about these migrant workers, raising awareness among Lebanese virtual societies. In addition, a migrant workers march was organized on the 1st of May to recognize and bring attention to the miserable conditions of migrant workers in Lebanon. A day of promoting the different cultures that these migrant bring with them was celebrated as well, and the Lebanese public was invited to taste the food of these diverse cultures.

Human Concern International’s team participated in both the march and the “taste- culture” day. We have promoted the campaign using social media means recognizing the efforts of human rights activists to bring freedom, and end the abuse of migrant women workers in Lebanon. Human Concern International will be taking part in future activities and campaigns to end abuse of migrant workers through providing assistance and support to these campaigns in line with HCI’s core values of promoting human rights, and respecting all those who are in need of them.

At a time when Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire, and former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney are detained for attempting to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza, at a time when toys, food and medical supplies are lingering elusively at the gates of the city, and the imposed blockade continues to exacerbate millions of lives, the residents of Gaza continue to live their daily tragedy in silence, in face of a world that has grown weary and apathetic to their cause.

The malaise following the December war continues to haunt millions of people, who have become desperately poverty-stricken. Devastated homes and neighbourhoods have become typical scenery, scarcity of food common, unemployment the norm, and increased rates of disease an inevitably which even if curable, lacks the necessary medical supplies and treatment.

Gaza has become synonymous with wars, destruction, and poverty. No wonder only a few are aware of the rich history and culture buried beneath decades and centuries of rubble so eloquently detailed in “Life at the Crossroads: A History of Gaza” by Gerald Butt recently re-published in 2009.

It has not been an easy task for HCI to reach out to the residents of Gaza. HCI’s resources and effort this year have been dedicated to this challenging task. The arduous journey however, has been rewarding and possible due to the perseverance of our team and supporting partners both in Gaza and the West Bank. Most recently a developmental initiative has been launched in support of families suffering from the now ubiquitous food-shortage and unemployment.

OFFERING CAPABILITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES

After extensive research and inquiry, and in spirit of HCI’s aim to offer sustainable developmental solutions, poultry keeping presented a feasible and manageable project, one that also plays an important socio-cultural role in Gaza. Poultry keeping makes use of family labour, mainly women, who are major beneficiaries.

The Agricultural Support for Smallholder Farmers and Food-Insecure Households initiative is currently assisting families in setting up small poultry-keeping businesses. Areas and direct beneficiaries have been screened and selected by HCI and its local partners, the Aid and Hope Centre for the Care of Cancer Patients and the Vocational Rehabilitation Workshops Society for Girls NGO. The designate areas comprising most of Gaza, share the same characteristics: elevated poverty, gravely affected by the war, high unemployment rate especially among the women population and finally suitable environmental and physical conditions for backyard production.

Each of the beneficiary families is provided with a flock consisting of approximately 100 birds. These flocks are managed by the individual farm families in order to secure food, income, and provide a form of employment mainly for women. Each farm family is provided with the necessary equipment, livestock and technical assistance required to implement the project. In addition, a local team of semi-volunteers consisting of veterinarians and agricultural engineers has been formed to assist in the distribution of livestock, equipments, technical assistance and follow up to ensure the success and sustainability of the individual businesses.

For many of these families, the poultry business is the sole means of livelihood, contributing to the overall well-being of these food-insecure households.

The small business also presents one of few opportunities for low-income, food-deficient families to save and invest, hence securing them from many unforeseeable risks. In addition to being a major income-generating activity (the sales of birds and eggs), the occasional consumption of either meat or eggs provides a valuable source of protein necessary for a healthy and nutritious diet which is generally lacking.

SHARING KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND EXPERTISE: THE TRAINING

Representatives from each family were invited to attend the training workshop for the Agricultural Support for Smallholder Farmers and Food-Insecure Households initiative that took place in Gaza. The training was a prerequisite for running the poultry business.

The purpose of the workshop was to familiarize the prospective business owners with the technical, medical, and managerial skills necessary to run and sustain a poultry-keeping business. The training underlined the importance of development as an alternative to aid. In addition, it was intended to help the trainees, particularly women, acquire the knowledge and expertise needed in setting up small businesses.

IN DEPTH: THE LIVES OF THREE GAZAN FAMILIES

“Living below the poverty line”, is a phrase no longer representative of the reality it once aimed to depict. It is insufficient, impersonal and ambiguous–a statement that generates nothing more than statistical controversy nowadays. Unfortunately the reality itself remains–uncontroversial and unaltered. Hunger and unemployment continue to govern the lives of millions in Gaza.

The story of three families in particular comes to us as a reminder of the true meaning of war and sanctions, of their repercussions, suffered by none other than innocent children and families who alone bear the brunt of conflict, destruction, poverty, hunger, and disease.

HOPE IN DESPAIR: THE MOBAEED FAMILY

Poverty is not merely a state of deprivation. It is a process that compels those implicated to redefine their priorities. In such cases of extreme poverty, nourishment and shelter take precedent while health and general well-being very rarely are considered. Sometimes however, the perpetual stress of survival takes its toll, exacerbated only by negligence and lack of awareness.

Last March, 37 year-old Nidhal Al-Mobaeed, mother to seven children, stumbled upon representatives from the Aid and Hope Centre for the Care of Cancer patients at the Women Affairs Centre bazzar in Gaza during their awareness campaign for the early detection of breast cancer sponsored by Human Concern International.

That day she was duly briefed about the mammograms test which is among the best early detection methods for breast cancer among women. Few days passed before Nidhal decided to go for her free examination. She and her husband recall that day with much sorrow, the day when Nidhal was informed she is suffering from a malignant form of breast cancer, one that warrants surgery and the complete removal of her breast.

In addition to her serious medical condition which hinders her from working, her husband Saleem suffers from cartilage damages in six of his spinal vertebrates deeming him also unfit to work. As a result, the family was left with very little or no income, equally overwhelmed by the urgency of Nidhal’s medical condition.

As such, the Centre proceeded to make all necessary arrangements in preparation for the surgery and designated doctors to follow up her condition. Coordinators from the Centre were also asked to visit Nidhal frequently to offer moral and psychological support. Upon their last visit, the coordinators informed the family of their selection to the poultry keeping program.

The news brightened up an otherwise bleak reality, one that this family was made to endure as a result of disease, hunger, devastating wars, and extreme poverty. They were relieved to know that all technical and medical assistance pertaining to the poultry keeping business will be entirely taken care of for the first six months to allow for the business to flourish. Their two youngest daughters, 7 and 11 year-old Shrooq and Amal, were certainly delighted at the thought of playing with the birds and caring for them.

According to Saleem, the business will set out to be a source of nutrition for the family. The unconsumed surplus, such as eggs, will be sold to secure a steady flow of income. This in turn will allow the family to purchase lacking necessities, contribute towards Nidhal’s medical treatment, and restore their war-damaged home.

The story of the Mobaeed family might be laden with sorrow and hardships but it also paints a bittersweet picture of hope and resilience amidst poverty, war and disease.

INSPIRED BY LIFE, THE GOOD AND THE BAD: THE AL-SAMEERE FAMILY

It is difficult to imagine how life can possibly be a source of inspiration for those who are besieged by so much misery–when poverty is aggravated by disease, when disease is exacerbated by hunger, and hunger by devastating wars. This is the story of Fayaad Al-Sameere, a man who despite life’s every attempt at breaking him, remains high-spirited, hopeful, and determined, undeterred by poverty, hunger, or disease.

Fayaad lives in his modest home in the outskirts of Gaza, along the border, with his wife, six children and one grandchild. Fayaad was introduced to the members of our team when he came in one day declaring that he is “not here to beg or ask for money”. Fayaad came in that day asking that his elder son, Hussein, be treated for a malignant case of cancer as the family have lost all source of income and were unable to proceed with treatment.

Twenty-year old Hussein was forced to discontinue his education due to his illness where he suffered from untreated tumours in the neck. Fayaad, unable to help his son due to his dire financial situation, turned to the Centre for support, and our team duly obliged.

It is important to note that Fayaad, this vigorous 40-year old man, full of life and hope is himself a victim of cancer. His tumours extend from the neck to his chest, and he has undergone seven different surgeries. Despite his passion and love for life, though, Fayaad has grown weary, especially after he was banned from travelling to complete treatment. The reason is the overwhelmingly high expenses that according to the authorities suffice to treat fifty patients. As such, Fayaad’s treatment came to a sudden halt leaving him with one wish, to live in peace.

Peace however, was not granted to the Al-Sameere family. A plot of agricultural land along the borders of Gaza, once a source of income for the family, is now forbidden territory. Every morning through a pair of binoculars, Fayaad gazes at his land on the horizon. Each day he hopes that they would return to harvest the land and restore the damage caused by the war, whose bulldozers destroyed decade-old Almond trees, a war that left numerous landowners and their families deprived and landless.

Their home was not made an exception. During the December war, the family had to flee their house in the outskirts of Gaza in search of a safer place in the centre of the city. Despite their already overwhelming expenses they had no choice but to pay rent for their safe haven. Incessant bombing did not spare their house, and it too suffered severe physical damages.

It is clear why Fayaad’s family were most suitable for the poultry keeping project. They have suffered the malaise of war, poverty, hunger and disease all together, and though they do receive aid on a quarterly basis, it is insufficient.

Upon our team’s visit to Fayaad’s home, they noticed that a small piece of land adjacent to the house was already cleared out in anticipation of the flock of birds. In Fayaad’s words, the business represents a lifeline for the family and an opportunity to once again lead a self-sufficient and dignified life.

This source of income will go towards Hussein’s treatment, food, clothes, an oven and other necessary missing furniture. In addition he aspires to expand the business in the near future to include cattle which would generate more income for the family.

Fayaad’s steadfastness and optimistic outlook, is not merely admirable but inspirational. When everything else seems to fall apart, his love and passion for life remains undisputed.

A DOOR-LESS HOME: THE QUEEDER FAMILY

As the title suggests this is the story of a family too poor to even afford a door to conceal their modest home. There lives Mariam Queeder 70-years of age, a widow and mother to three children and seven step children most of them suffering from mental disorders, a condition that has become all too common in Gaza. Mariam’s daily strife for food and income is heart-wrenching, mainly relying on the kindness of a few charitable individuals.

Maysoon, the youngest and only child with a high school diploma, bears the brunt of this everyday battle. The responsibilities are cumbersome and the pressure of being the only high school graduate means that she is possibly the only family member with a slightly better chance of employment. Her siblings see in her a leader, indeed she is the family’s sole caretaker.

Unfortunately, her daily struggle to secure some form of sustenance for her siblings is undermined by the lack of income, and she like the rest of her family and indeed the majority of people in Gaza, is left without any form of employment. In her words, sleep is impossible when the mind is constantly buzzing with images of her hungry mother and siblings. One thing is for sure, hunger in Gaza is a pandemic spreading wilder than forest fire.

Maysoon was elated to hear the news about the poultry keeping business yet similarly perplexed, debating where to keep the birds and instantly worrying about feeding them. She was reassured that all technical and medical assistance will be at their disposal in addition to the chicken feed which will be provided for six consecutive months at the beginning of the project.

The poultry business instilled a sense of rejuvenated hope for the Queeder family, who now have the opportunity to be self-sufficient and finally generate the much needed income that will safeguard them from hunger and disease and ensure their overall-wellbeing.

This source of income will contribute towards the family’s medical expenses, food, and clothing and allow them to purchase basic commodities they were previously deprived from.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Behind images of war and poverty rests a reality unfathomable only by immediate experience. Even flamboyant words and images become superfluous at times, desensitizing many, if not most outside observers. With the end of each article and news briefing, most will return to the comfort of their mundane life, perhaps with a momentary sigh of relief, perhaps in an ephemeral state of despair. Eventually the majority of us tend to forget almost instantaneously.

Human Concern International’s firm belief that no innocent child, woman, or man should be the forgotten victims of such extreme poverty and devastation motivates us to pursue the most challenging yet most rewarding of tasks. HCI’s involvement in Gaza might not reach out to the whole of Gaza, but it aims to offer sustainable developmental solutions to as many families in need as is possible. We aspire to continue and expand our initiatives in hope that the good that is reaped will multiply and tip over the injustice of this status-quo.

In May 2009, the HCI team launched two projects in Sudan that will provide credit capital and the necessary training and coaching to two new communities in two settlements in the south and the north of the capital Khartoum as well as a project which will promote entrepreneurial spirit among impoverished Sudanese orphans, and giving them the proper training in setting up and managing their own small businesses. Human Concern International has always made an effort to work with poor communities in Sudan; with 2 million Sudanese at risk of death, in addition to those who have been injured, displaced and have lost all of their support and care networks due to the continues civil unrest, poverty and lack of proper infrastructure, one should feel concerned. The living conditions in these settlements are extremely unsafe; while visiting the community leaders, we witnessed the cruel effect of poverty on people; in these two settlements people had built their houses from scrap metal, water was insufficient and unclean, sanitation services were nonexistent and the scarcity of food was visible on the children, someone even pointed out those dying from malnutrition.

This difficult image that we witnessed will soon be changing with these projects that were launched in partnership with several local long-time partners in Sudan, including Peace and Development Volunteers (PDV) and African Charity for Child and Mother Care (ACCSOM). One project will assist the rebuilding of Sudanese lives through micro credit, and provide access to finance programs for low-income Sudanese widows. The second project aims to unlock and unleash the economic potential of Sudan’s orphans that HCI has been sponsoring since 2003. Through the micro-credit initiative: 100 widows will receive loans for income generation and small businesses, 2 revolving loan programs will be established and will be operated by local communities, 2 local credit committees will be established at two targeted communities, and 16 people at two local credit committees will receive training in basic credit provision.

The second project’s objective is to assist orphans shift their mindset from being passive receivers of donations to active income generating entrepreneurs. Instead of being drawn into a passive cycle of receiving charity and relying on the kindness of others, 30 orphans will receive the training and materials necessary to embark on their own business ventures. They will also be given the opportunity to test their ideas under real-life circumstances, and take part in the “Business for a Day” program, in which they will operate a business for one day. An investment club, run by the orphans, will be set up. The club will be endowed with a trust fund, which will be invested towards implementing club activities. Thirty orphans, fourteen years of age and older, will take part in the first phase of the program.

The implementation of these two projects will provide the solid ground on which these widows and orphans can build their lives on, where the knowledge and the technical assistance will be provided by the project’s workshops and volunteer trainers and the revolving funds and loans will be in the hand of their own community to make use of, nurture and pass on to other needy members of their community to slowly but effectively reduce poverty levels within these two settlements.

Our field visits were not only to launch new projects, but to also follow up and connect with other local partners in these two settlements, where HCI has long been implementing relief and development projects that offer Sudanese orphans economic security through the child sponsorship program; where devastated, left out and marginalized orphans are given access to food, security and education throughout their sponsorship period. Our local partners took us to a library that HCI helped establish, where many of the sponsored children are able to have access to knowledge and information.

During the same visit, HCI and the Canada-based International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) launched a new interesting initiative in Sudan, related to International Water & Sanitation (IWS) and targeted in the first phase at building the capacity of Canadian international institutions in this area of technical assistance. To have a better understanding of the situation, HCI will prepare a comprehensive country analytical report in partnership with HCI local partner, Peace and Development Volunteers (PDV). The result of the report should formulate the ground in which HCI and other Canadian based organizations can implement large-scale interventions in Sudan to ensure water sufficiency, and opportunities for related income generating activities. Projects like these are vital and have the potential to fundamentally change many lives, especially in impoverished settlements like these ones. HCI also witnessed the launching of a new civil society-public partnership for the provision of family-based health insurance that our partners are engaged in.

In the last part of our very dynamic and productive field visit, we also got the chance to visit the health clinic that was established with the help of HCI to serve the new settlements in northern Khartoum. The health clinic has outstandingly been operating autonomously, self sufficiently and effectively to serve the population with a professional team of health experts that are semi volunteering to cover the health needs of the area, from treating chronic illnesses to dental care. During our visit at the clinic, we came across a group of young boys in the process of being circumcised; our local partners explained the importance of having such traditional operations take place in a clinic by the hands of medical practitioners, instead of having them done the traditional way in an unsanitary environment that often yields harmful outcomes. Wandering around the clinic, we were content to see the staff operating professionally; taking care of the patients and maintaining the medical equipment to make sure that as many people as possible are able to benefit from it.

It was a busy week in the field in Sudan, but those few days have made us more confident after seeing the efforts of our local partners to sustain themselves and sustain project impacts and use all the available opportunities to help their communities. As the humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating, HCI feels obliged to double the efforts to provide immediate relief to those who are in need, especially those that are most vulnerable; orphans and widows.

HCI launched this week its new project in Lebanon, the Farm to School program, with the objectives of improving the economic stability of low-income local small farmers in rural areas, providing jobs for vulnerable local women in food preparation, providing healthy meals for thousands of poor students, improving the nutritional health of poor school-aged children, increasing school attendance among poor students, and educating students on healthy eating habits.

Farm to School program brings healthy food from local farms to thousands of poor school children at schools located in low-income remote villages. Vulnerable women, particularly widows and women with special needs, will be provided jobs in food preparation. It is a win-win for everyone.

Moreover, the program teaches students about the path from farm to fork, and promotes healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. At the same time, use of local products in school meals and educational activities provides a new direct market for farmers in the area and lessens environmental impacts of transporting food through long distances.

The program desires to support community-based food systems, strengthen family farms, provide jobs for vulnerable women, provide food supplement for poor students and improve student health. As soon as the poor students’ health improves, they will automatically regard the healthy eating habits as responsible for this improvement. Consequently, they will, more possibly, adopt these healthy habits for life and maybe spread them to other unfortunate members of the family who have no chance of this “luxury”. This program, as mentioned above, helps students, family farms, and vulnerable women. In this way, the family farm owners will have better hopes of making a direct living, the students will be motivated to get an education, and the women will benefit of their wasted time. These benefits are not limited to economy and education, but also it affects the psychological state of all these subjects, thus collectively improving the mental state of a big part of the village.

On the long-term, the program will introduce waste management programs like composting, and experiential education opportunities such as planting school gardens, cooking demonstrations and farm tours.

HCI team in Jordan was busy last month in Jordan launching its new initiative for Iraqi refugees living in Jordan: the Aid for Change initiative, aiding vulnerable people with the aim to change their lives through self-help and self-directedness. This new initiative will be implemented in partnership with the Jordan-based New Development Organization. It will build on HCI’s previous initiatives supporting Iraqi refugees in Zarqa, Jordan since the year 2007.

For poor Iraqi refugees, every day is about finding enough food, water and other basic necessities to survive: widows cannot afford to send their children to school and pay for their learning materials, when they can barely manage to survive on occasional in-kind assistance from their neighbors; the unemployed never have a chance to learn new skills if they spend all day making a living on the black market; and, poverty-stricken communities are too busy looking for food to rebuild infrastructure vital for redevelopment.

And to top all this, these poor refugees have to cope with all their feelings of grief, depression, disquiet sleep, and loss of appetite; which are normal human reactions to an abnormal incident and not the other way round. What they are going through is not a weakness in their characters or lack of faith, but they are alone and isolated in their suffering. The psychological demoralization has also shaken all the values and hopes that they carried.

HCI’s program will help low-income and needy Iraqi mothers, Iraqi with special needs to secure basic necessities for themselves and their families, such as food and non-food items. At the same time, this program will help them secure an income by themselves, so they can break out of the poverty trap and build sustainable future for the entire family either in Jordan or in their home country, Iraq.

HCI’s program will pay participants with basic necessities to build (or rebuild) their lives. Basic aid supplies, such as food and non-food items, given to the right people, at the right time, make it possible for them to devote time and energy to development opportunities. HCI’s assistance is to give Iraqi refugees the chance to take the first steps out of the poverty trap, thus to establish a life for themselves and their families.

The philosophy of this project is to unleash the potentials of vulnerable Iraqi refugees to establish themselves and help their families and their overall communities, while securing much needed necessities through relief aid. When these potentials are unleashed and made use of, these refugees will feel that they are able of bread wining, keeping a shelter, and belonging to an extended social group. All these satisfy the natural human hierarchy of needs, thus putting the mental/psychological state back on track.

Through this project, widows will be assisted to develop viable home-based businesses. They will be compensated with basic necessities to devote time and energy to develop such businesses. People with special needs will learn new skills and develop viable micro businesses that will help them build sustainable future. Women will be trained on practical topics such as parental and child health. Children will be assisted to stage a play addressing issues such social cohesion and peaceful coexistence. Children will organize a carnival and will be given educational materials and taught about issues concerning pluralism, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence.

This is what we termed as aid for change, aiding vulnerable people with the aim to change their lives through self-help and self-directedness.

On the 8th of March 2009, HCI worked cooperatively with its Gaza-based partner, the Aid & Hope Center for the Care of Cancer Patients, to celebrate the International Woman’s Day by promoting cancer early detection, particularly mammograms test which is among the best early detection methods for breast cancer among women. Breast cancer if detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 96%.

In Gaza, the awareness of breast cancer and opportunity for help is limited for women. Latest estimates show that less than 40% of breast cancer cases are detected early in Gaza - one of the lowest rates in the world. By promoting mammography test, Gaza women will have an opportunity to detect breast cancer when it is small, and when treatment options are available and a cure is more likely.

Mammography is a specific type of imaging that uses a low-dose x-ray system to examine breasts. Mammography play a central part in early detection of breast cancers because it can show changes in the breast up to two years before a patient or physician can feel them. Current guidelines from the international health bodies recommend screening mammography every one or two years for women, beginning at age 40, since the older a woman is, the greater her chance of developing breast cancer. Research has shown that annual mammograms lead to early detection of breast cancers, when they are most curable and breast-conservation therapies are available. When cancers are small, the woman has more treatment options and a cure is more likely.

The awareness campaign took place during the three-day fair organized by the Women Affairs Center, Gaza Chapter, under the slogan of “Despite the death and destruction, long-live the eighth of March: Exhibition of goods made by Gaza women.”

Thirty five women NGOs participated in this year’s exhibition, where 12 thousands women are expected to attend. NGOs are exhibiting their goods and products made by Gaza women.

Assisted by women volunteers from the Aid & Hope Center for the Care of Cancer Patients (AHCCCP), 900 women from Gaza filled in a questionnaire about breast cancer and they were given pink ribbons symbolizing the fight against breast cancer, donated by HCI. The team intends to complete 10,000 questionnaires by the end of the exhibition. The survey investigates, among other things, the current state of early detection of breast cancer, the mammography tests, and the perception of Gaza women in regard to the test.

Findings from this survey will help shaping HCI/AHCCCP’s future interventions concerning breast cancer early detection and the viability to implement a mobile clinic in Gaza specialized in mammography tests in the poorest and marginalized areas in Gaza.