Mar, 2023
Program to provide psychological support for women in Gaza helps women develop techniques to manage their stressful situations
In an exceptional move to support the deteriorating health conditions in the Gaza Strip, Anera recently implemented a psychological support project for women in marginalized areas in the Gaza Strip, which lasted for three months with the generous support of Islamic Relief USA.
The project targeted about 100 women in the northern and southern Gaza Strip. It included group sessions for psychological relief, individual sessions, field visits to homes and bilateral sessions with families and couples.
For the cases that needed special intervention, we provided psychological support sessions for mothers and sessions for their children, especially in cases where they were subjected to psychological and physical violence.
“The project provided psychological and social support to women affected, especially after the Israeli offensive on Gaza last August, including their children from five to eight years of age,” said psychologist Laila Abu Aisha, one of the field monitors for the project in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
She explained that the project included five sessions of emotional release through activities and expression of feelings as well as some home activities and instructions. She added that participants benefited from feedback after each session.
"I am very happy to take part in this project and to see the keenly felt impact it has had on the women since its launching."
With a big smile, Laila said the initial impact of the project was impressive and achieved an unexpected response rate from women.
"The ladies were also very pleased with Anera's distribution of dignity kits for women’s self-care," she said. "This was a wonderful gesture, especially in light of the dire economic conditions in the Gaza Strip."
Laila said the difficult political and economic reality in Gaza has imposed major psychological and social pressures on women.
"I am very happy to take part in this project and to see the keenly felt impact it has had on the women since its launching," Laila says. "I hope from the bottom of my heart that this service of providing psychological and social support to women in Gaza will continue."
Ola, a 39-year-old mother of five, was one of the women who participated in the sessions. She described her experience as very special. "My husband died from cancer when I was 24.” Since then, she has had to raise and care for her children alone. "It was a very difficult responsibility."
She echoed so many other women in Gaza who suffer from severe pressures. “For me, as a mother of children without a father, I suffer from a constant state of anxiety. I’m always thinking of how to secure my children's material and moral needs and how to deal with them under these circumstances."
Ola saw her participation in the sessions as an opportunity to learn how to cope with her situation. "For the first time in my life I received psychological support and it has changed a lot how I think about my situation, especially after listening to others and knowing I am not alone.” She says, “Almost everyone living in the Gaza Strip suffers from depression due to the suffocating conditions, and is in dire need of psychological intervention."
Women in the sessions were grateful as well to Anera for supplying dignity kits that contained feminine care products that many had not bought for a long time. “The gesture was just wonderful,” said Ola.
Since joining the sessions, Manar says she has found great psychological comfort with the psychologists and the participating women who share the same suffering with her in different ways. The 45-year-old mother of nine suffers from harsh economic conditions. She lives with her family in a rented house, her husband is unemployed, and she has three children who suffer from chronic diseases.
"My life circumstances made me think of suicide many times." Manar choked up revealing her state of mind. "There are days when there is not enough food or drink for my children or medicine for my sick children. We cannot pay the house rent, and the landlord always threatens us with eviction."
Before the sessions Manar said she was psychologically devastated and felt her mind had closed off. “After attending the sessions, my mental health started to improve significantly and now I have become more accepting of my reality. I feel optimistic and self-confident and I can deal more with the surrounding circumstances."
Even Manar’s family noticed the remarkable improvement in her mental health and her daily performance in life. "There may still be many challenging conditions surrounding me that have not improved, but the sessions taught me to be strong and compassionate towards myself and my children, and to maintain my mental health."
"There may still be many challenging conditions surrounding me that have not improved, but the sessions taught me to be strong and compassionate towards myself and my children, and to maintain my mental health."
Laila Abu Aisha is a psychologist and a field monitor for the project in Jabalia.
Gaza
North Gaza Governorate
Just 23 square miles in size, North Gaza is home to about 255,000 people, three good-sized towns – Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia – and fertile farmland. The area is quite well known for its delicious strawberries and oranges. North Gaza is also home to the Jabalia camp, the largest of Gaza's Palestinian refugee camps.
This program is funded by Islamic Relief USA
The views expressed herein are those of Anera and shall not, in any way whatsoever, be construed to reflect the official opinion of IRUSA, its Islamic Relief affiliates, or its donors.
