For many Gazans, prolonged military incursions and firefights have become a fact of life. Even worse, those most affected by the violence often do not have access to immediate first aid and medical care. In the past eight years, numerous instances of prolonged Israeli military incursions and curfews have made professional first responders unable to access victims of violence in a timely manner.

With funding from UPA, Relief International, together with the Gaza-based Palestine Society for Change and Development, has begun a 10-month project to ensure that the areas of the Gaza Strip that suffer the most from violence will have the capacity to respond to crises with local first aid teams.

These Community First Aid Teams, led by youth and women volunteers, will be composed of 13 people: one trainer, two support trainers, and 10 trainees. Relief International hired medic trainers from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Gaza and administered 20 hours of "training of trainers" sessions covering primary health care.

The first training session was completed this fall. Several trainees expressed their appreciation for the program's focus on training women and youth, empowering them with the practical knowledge to cope amidst often devastating military incursions in their neighborhoods.

One trainee, Etadel, said she had grown accustomed to tending the wounded, even though she had never been trained in basic first aid: "I used to perform first aid activities without having any basic scientific background, but after attending this course, I feel like I'm standing on solid ground."

The program is focusing on areas hardest hit by military incursions. The first "target neighborhoods" are Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya, located in the northern Gaza Strip near the Israeli border.

Ultimately, 780 community members will receive first aid training and certification, with 26 residing in each of the target neighborhoods. These citizen medics will be able to help more than 250,000 people in the target communities and nearby surroundings. Even if they can't provide all the proper medical attention for their neighbors, they will have the knowledge of how to keep a shooting victim alive until a doctor can be accessed.

Housewife Taghrid Dardouna, 33, said that the program should be expanded to the rest of the Gaza Strip since "every region is a possible target" vulnerable to attack. "This program is important everywhere especially for the housewives" she added. "In spite of the political conflicts, most housewives do not know how to deal with emergency cases."

This urgent project will not only empower individuals; it is designed to also help improve the capacity of local community-based organizations to implement, fund, and report on other projects, as well as build cross-community linkages both across women and youth sectors and between different organizations.

Building Palestinians' capacity from the ground up—just another way UPA donors are making a difference with their contributions. Please help us continue this vital work.