gaza crisis

• Assistance under Recently Awarded Grants: USAID is in the process of awarding additional grants of up to $750,000 each for US NGOs to deliver humanitarian assistance in Gaza.  Two grants were signed this week and the rest will be awarded in the coming days. Under the six currently active grants, which total $1.5 million, USAID’s implementers have purchased food items, including canned vegetables, canned meat, tuna, high protein biscuits, and beans, as well as non-food items, including mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, batteries, candles, and cleaning materials.  USAID has also provided, through its on-going grant with World Food Program, 1,666 metric tons of food commodities - wheat flour, vegetable oil, chickpeas, sugar and salt -- to over 21,000 needy families.

Youth and Education Development

• “One Laptop per Child” Donations Boost Education in West Bank Schools:  USAID assisted the Ministry of Education and Higher Education with the complex logistics, clearance, and delivery of the 1,000 XO-laptops that were donated by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Foundation in coordination with the American Charities for Palestine, founded by UPP Co-chair Dr. Ziad Asali. The laptop donations aim to contribute to the quality of education in Palestinian schools, supporting the strategic goals highlighted by the PA’s "Education Development Strategic Plan.” USAID also attended the OLPC Middle East Conference in Jordan, where OLPC announced an additional donation of 5,000 computers to UNRWA schools in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
  
  
• Palestinian Faculty Development Program:  A 5-day workshop on effective teaching strategies, organized by AMIDEAST, was completed in Jericho with the participation of 28 university professors from six Palestinian universities in the West Bank. 
  
  
• Ruwwad Youth Receive Media and Leadership Training:  13 youth from the Ruwwad youth program received media training at the Youth Development and Resource Center (YDRC) in Nablus.  The training aimed at equipping selected youth leaders with media skills to help them become media trainers at the four YDRCs in the West Bank.  In addition, a four-day training for 30 youth leaders and volunteers was completed in Ramallah with the presence of Minister of Youth and Sports. The training provided the YDRC youth with basic leadership skills to help them plan, develop, and implement youth-led community initiatives.

 

eCONOMIC development

• Ideas Presented to Facilitate Movement of Goods into Gaza:  A former Senior Executive with the U.S. Customs and Border protection agency conducted a series of meetings with local, international and Palestinian stakeholders to solicit ideas for moving relief and reconstruction materials into Gaza.  She also met with prominent business people to discuss private sector involvement in the operation of the Gaza crossing points. Finally, she prepared a document outlining the specific steps the US government can recommend to ease current difficulties in the West Bank and enhance the Palestinian Authority’s image.