Maia Project: Clean Water for Children in Gaza

Maia units still working to service the families in their neighborhoods. I spoke to people in Rafah, Al-Mosader village and Al-Shajaiya which are some of the most marginalized and poor areas in Gaza. Families are depending on Maia units to provide safe drinking water during coronavirus crisis. Most of people in Gaza Strip in general and especially in these marginalized areas are day laborers and they don't have a monthly salary so with the restrictions to stop the spread of the virus, their financial situation is very difficult. Maia units helped them to get free drinkable water.

Here are a few examples of families I spoke with who:

- Somaya is a single mother with 5 children living in Al-Mosader village she explained, "Every day I need 2 NIS [equivalent to 57 cents] to buy water and need 2 NIS transportation to reach the nearest desalination plant. It's difficult for me but during the coronavirus crisis it's more difficult because it's hard to find transportation and I don't have money to buy water. Now I get the water for free from Al-Mosader kindergarten which is next to my home."

-In Tal Al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah, the water quality is especially bad and salty. The residents suffer from the water crisis during their daily lives. But for Mohammed and many other families, they are able to get free water daily from a Maia unit.

- Maram is 5 years old. She and her siblings live in Al-Shajaiya and they go to the nearby Al-Fawares kindergarten near their home every day to get clean drinking water.

The people in Gaza suffer from the water crisis which is caused by the Israeli occupation. With your contributions, we in Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) are working to provide clean, healthy water for Palestinian children by building Maia units in schools and kindergartens. This project helps alleviate the water crisis and though schools and kindergartens are closed, Maia units are contributing to helping with another crisis in Gaza.