The view from Gaza

Hidden rooftop gardens supported by Oxfam are providing a lifeline to impoverished families in the southern Gaza Strip.

Rooftops in the Gaza Strip. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

Ordinary Gazans face many challenges. They have been unable to work in Israel since the uprising or 'Intifada' of 2000. The Israeli blockade of the Strip, which began in 2007, has caused much of the economy to collapse. Employment opportunities have become increasingly scarce.

 

Oxfam has been working with local partner, the Ma'an Development Centre, to run a special rooftop garden and rabbit husbandry project providing support to more than 255 families.

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

ECHOThis project is funded by the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Commission (ECHO)

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Crisis in Gaza

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Hatem Awad on his rooftop garden. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

We have been working with unemployed households to develop the space on their rooftops to breed rabbits and cultivate fruits and vegetables.

 

Hatem Awad, a 37-year-old from Khan Younis, is unemployed and lives with his five children. Hatem used to work as a labourer in Israel, but has been out of work since the borders were closed. Times have been particularly tough in the last few years.

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

Hatem Awad, beneficiary of Oxfam's livelihoods programme. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

"The price of vegetables in the market has risen dramatically during the blockade. Our [new] home garden has been able to feed us for more than six months," Hatem explains.

 

"During the three week war with Israel, the rooftop garden and the rabbits were the only food my family had to survive on."

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

Hatem's rabbits provided through Oxfam's livelihoods scheme. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

Pictured are some of Hatem's rabbits.

 

"I have an average of 50-60 newborn rabbits per month, which allows me to eat and sell some in the local market. This has enabled my family to afford other basic things such as clothing. I'm so grateful that I have been able to secure an independent income for my family," he continues.

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

Mrs Awad, another beneficiary of the scheme. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

Mrs Awad, a 35-year-old mother (pictured centre), describes the difference the project has made.

 

"In the past my husband used to be tense all the time because we needed money to buy daily necessities and he didn't have any income. Now, things have changed. Most of the meals which I cook for my family come from our roof garden. This meets two thirds of our needs. We are very lucky in comparison with other poor families."

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

Mohammed Awad helping out in the garden. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

Mohammed Awad, a promising 14-year-old student, helps his father with gardening, feeding, and cleaning the rabbit cages.

 

"Sometimes I go with my father to the local market to sell some of the rabbits. This provides us with an income and lets us buy new clothes," he explains. "I'm really happy; now we eat three proper meals a day, and I get pocket money when I go to school."

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela

 

Oxfam staff member Ala'a Eid inspecting a rooftop garden. [Photo credit: Mohammed Ali]

Here, Oxfam's Ala'a Eid inspects one of the beneficiaries' rooftop gardens.

 

With funding from ECHO, Oxfam has been training people like Hatem to tend to their gardens and providing households with a range of equipment from plastic sheeting to fertiliser and fodder.

 

Photo: Mohammed Ali Abu Najela