The Methodist Church in Britain has launched an appeal to support the emergency work being carried out in Gaza by the Methodist Liaison Office’s partners.
Donate to the Gaza Appeal here
Donation is through the Methodist Church World Mission Fund, via JustGiving - please add 'GAZA APPEAL' at the end of the online form where you can leave a message.
The partners’ work focuses on helping civilians in Gaza with medical, dental and mental health issues and offering them financial support. Speaking about the war in the Gaza Strip, which is 25 miles long and houses 2.3 million people, the President and Vice-President expressed their deep horror at the physical and psychological impact the continued violence is having on families:
“The scale of the destruction and tragic loss of life in so short a space of time is incomparable to any other conflict in recent times. We grieve for all lives lost on October 7 and in the subsequent fighting. There is no justification for such widespread killing of tens of thousands of innocent people and we are gravely concerned for the entire population of the Gaza strip.”
The Methodist Liaison Office (MLO) supports several partners in the region, many of whom have had to adapt the support they offer in light of the Israeli Defense Forces' military campaign.
The Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees (DSPR) which is part of the Near East Council of Churches (NECC) and the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre which had just opened a clinic in Gaza when the violence started, are working in the most difficult of circumstances.
The DSPR-NECC says the situation in Gaza is a disaster beyond belief and the impact on people is catastrophic. They are working with some of the most vulnerable civilians and in central and south Gaza their clinic is one of only four centres that continues to operate: they are able to see around 500 people a day. Their mental health support has reached over 5000 children aged between five and nine through open days and other activities in different shelters and schools.
The DSPR-NECC wants to expand this work to help 4000 new children and women, offering mental health first aid to those traumatised by the conflict. The DSPR-NECC has also given grants of around £150 to more than 600 families to buy water, food and other essential supplies.
Around 800 members of the Christian community are taking refuge in Gaza’s two churches: the Holy Family Catholic Church and the St Porphyrius Orthodox Church. The DSPR-NECC is supporting these people with food, medical supplies, fuel for the electrical generator and hygiene products.
The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre works with children with disabilities and their families. It opened a new rehabilitation clinic in Gaza so families do not have to make the difficult journey to Jerusalem for treatment. Their new centre in the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City has been damaged and the staff displaced, but they are able to carry on emergency rehabilitation and support. Their occupational therapist, Al-Zahraa is sheltering in a school in Rafah where 3000 people are living in crowded and restricted accommodation, and their social worker, Musa is based in a church in Gaza City where a community of sisters run a home for 40 children with disabilities.
Staff at the Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre which specialises in occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy, are making short videos to support and coach staff in Gaza on how to treat acute and chronic disabilities.
Donate to the Gaza Appeal here
Donation is through the Methodist Church World Mission Fund, via JustGiving - please add 'GAZA APPEAL' at the end of the online form where you can leave a message.
Click here to see all our resources on the situation in Israel-Palestine