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Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign, Gaza 2nd Home
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Summary
If there ever was need for a symbol of hope, it is now. Please help rebuild the next home in the Rachel Corrie Rebuilding Campaign in Gaza, the home of physiotherapist Ali Al Bahry and his family.
 read updates from the field
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Received $7,958 from 66 donations from people like:
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More Information About this Project
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
We are deeply concerned about the burgeoning humanitarian crisis caused by the closure of the borders of the Gaza Strip. Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups, along with U.N. agencies, are making urgent appeals to Israel and the U.S. to open Gaza's borders to avert further humanitarian disaster. We ask your help to rebuild the home of the family of physiotherapist Ali Al Bahry, whose job at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme is to provide care for those recovering from trauma.
Activities
Completed June speaking tour with Jerusalem Rabbi Milgrom & Gaza NGO partner Mr. El Nounou. Americans are calling their representatives to ask their help to end blockade. Family to meet with architect; Groundbreaking;Construction;Housewarming Teleco
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $7,958
Remaining Goal to be Funded: $39,042
Total Funding Goal: $47,000
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
Resources
Why this Project is Important
Potential Long Term Impact
Rebuilding this home during the Gaza blockade means you believe that collective punishment must end. Together we show that rebuilding, not destroying, can replace violence with justice, lead to an opening of the Gaza border, and peace negotiations.
Project Message
When people say there is no way to make peace, tell them this: There was a house; it was demolished — we rebuilt it.
- Bill McGrath, May 24th telecon celebrating completion of home
When this Project was Updated
Last Updated
This project was last updated on October 02, 2007.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on October 11, 2006.
Latest Update from the Field
Updates from the field
By Donna Baranski-Walker, - Executive Director, October 02, 2007 05:58 PM
The blockade of Gaza is entering its third month now and the crisis there is overwhelming, (see www.ochaopt.org). The Rebuilding Alliance is doing all we can to organize an end to the blockade. We were just awarded a seed grant from Grassroots International to use our Contact Congress Teleconferences to launch an Open Gaza Campaign focused on ending the blockade with Gaza, and also topics related to the Leahy Law. We'll keep you posted as the Campaign takes shape.
This past week the Israeli Banks said they are cutting off all funds transfers to banks in Gaza, As far as we know, this does NOT impact Rebuilding Alliance funds transfers to our NGO partner in Gaza, the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. We’ll test our bank-to-bank wire transfer system in the week ahead to confirm.
What does the blockade mean for our rebuilding project? Khaled Nasrallah who works with procurement requests at UNRWA, reports that everything in Gaza now cost 10 x more than it did last year. This is true in all sectors. When materials run out, they are not replaced because no raw materials are being allowed into Gaza at all.
We hoped to buy the last bags of cement for this project but cement is now becoming bad, unsafe to build with. What about exploring alternative building materials?
Straw bale construction can be beautiful and long-lasting but such construction is not the norm in Gaza. People in Gaza want to build homes made of poured concrete and re-bar, homes that will last 100 years, best if the walls are thick. What do Gazans say about using local building materials? Khaled Nasrallah said, “We don't really have building materials now but we do have a lot of empty shipping containers. Perhaps building with materials like these could show that people are struggling to have homes even with no materials.”
A group of eco-builders called Bustan Shalom are rebuilding with Bedouin families in the Negev. Their speaking tour brings them to visit the SF Bay area in two weeks. The Rebuilding Alliance is inviting all the green builders in our area for a house party for Bustan, so we can learn more about this work to show examples to our partners and the families in Gaza.
It may be possible to build with local materials, even shipping containers, if engineers and architects can design to meet the family’s needs. Next step: touch base with the Al Bahry family to explore these ideas further.
Links:
Read 2 more "Updates from the Field" |
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