Adapting aid to scarce resources
Meanwhile, she used her contacts in Gaza to set up a team of helpers. Their first job was to build sanitary facilities including a toilet and shower. The idea was to create a place where hygiene – and dignity – could be preserved. In the overcrowded camps, this is an issue that affects women and older people in particular. At the same time, the helpers worked with another organization to set up their own camp.
Since it is virtually impossible to bring materials into the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians have to work with whatever they can get hold of on the local market: there is less and less available, and everything is becoming more and more expensive. “But it’s incredible how creative people become in a crisis,” says Abu Daqa. She explains that Ahmed Sherif, a civil engineer who is her team manager on the ground, is constantly out and about, keeping his eyes open, and so far has always found an alternative solution. Like a system of pipes the team built themselves to access water for washing from a neighboring camp. So far, they have succeeded in organizing everything in Gaza or, if necessary, having it produced themselves, like the detergent to clean the toilets. It is now also being used in other camps.
Their latest achievement is a small solar-powered desalination system. “With it, we can produce clean water for around 250 of our families,” says Keller. To date, a lot of the money raised from donations has been used merely to buy drinking water.
As the helpers on the ground work almost solely on a voluntary basis, the team in Germany has to be as tactful as possible. They quickly discovered that there was little point in coming up with ready-made solutions, says Abu Daqa: “At first, the people there say ‘yes’ to everything.” It hurts her to see the extent to which Palestinians in Gaza are used to having people from abroad tell them what is good for them. “They lose their self-confidence as a result, and also their motivation.” In the meantime, however, the people she works with are now willing to say exactly what they need in Gaza, and the team in Germany has learned to hand over responsibility to them.
