Imagine you are so thirsty that you drink salt water. What sounds unimaginable has long been reality for the overwhelming majority of people in Gaza. The infrastructure in the region has collapsed, and most water supply systems and desalination plants have been destroyed over the past 21 months. As a result, only one in 20 people currently has regular access to sufficient drinking water.
In their desperation, people drink whatever they can find: rainwater from puddles or even salt water. Both have fatal health consequences for them. Salt water dehydrates the body even more. Contaminated water often leads to diarrhea and life-threatening infections such as cholera – a deadly danger for a population already weakened by hunger and ongoing attacks.
Aid supplies such as drinking water, food, medicine, and hygiene products are not reaching the people in Gaza in sufficient quantities – even though aid organizations are standing by at the border with everything that is so urgently needed.
We are in a race against time – under dangerous conditions, without reliable access and with growing desperation on all sides. The fact that we are able to provide emergency aid at all is thanks to our cooperation with the Palestinian Environmental Friends Association, a local organization made up of people who have been affected by the disaster themselves.
arche nova distributes 600,000 liters of water in a camp in Rafah
Most of Gaza's more than 2 million inhabitants have now fled to the Rafah region in the south. Despite the enormous challenges, arche nova, together with the Palestinian Environmental Friends Association, has managed to distribute drinking water there. Until mid-August, nearly 3,400 people in one of the camps will receive 6 liters of water per day for a month. This is far less than a person needs per day for drinking, washing, and household use. And yet this small amount is currently saving lives.
We are determined to expand our emergency aid in Gaza and provide people with sufficient water and other relief supplies. To do this, we need safe access to the crisis area—and your help. Please stand by the people of Gaza and support our emergency aid with a donation!
