AL-MAGHAZI REFUGEE CAMP: WOMEN BENEFIT FROM USG

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 004905 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR PRM/ANE AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PHUM KWBG SUBJECT: AL-MAGHAZI REFUGEE CAMP: WOMEN BENEFIT FROM USG FUNDED SEWING FACTORY REF: A. JERUSALEM 02199 ¶B. STATE 106178 ¶1. SUMMARY: ConGen PD Specialist traveled to the al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza on November 28 to visit a sewing factory run by the Palestinian NGO, Palestine Save the Children Foundation (PSCF),and to monitor the project funded by a USG grant. He met with Ali Mansour, the Director of PSCF, and women who are participating in the factories' training and employment programs, and he toured the facilities. In 2006, Post requested funding under the Ambassador's Fund for Refugees program to educate Palestinian women residing in the refugee camp on sewing skills and management training for small-scale enterprises. The al-Maghazi refugee camp has a population of approximately 22,000 refugees, who suffer the effects of several years of violence and economic upheaval. END SUMMARY. Visit to the Factory -------------- ¶2. ConGen PD specialist traveled to the Gaza al-Maghazi refugee camp on November 28 to visit a sewing factory run by the Palestine Save the Children Foundation that was funded by a USD 20,000 grant from PRM under the Ambassador's Fund. PD specialist toured the facilities and met with Ali Mansour, the director of PSCF, and with several of the women participating in the program. Mansour said that the women will receive training on sewing skills and management training for small-scale enterprises before they begin working in the factory. Several of the women expressed their satisfaction with the project, noting that they were happy they would be able to earn some additional money for their families, "especially in this difficult situation." (NOTE: Digital pictures emailed electronically to PRM/ANE. END NOTE.) Project Background -------------- ¶3. The PRCS sewing factory project is an informal education and income generating project for women residing in the al-Maghazi refugee camp. PSCF believes that the project will increase the number of women wage-earners providing support for needy Palestinian families facing immediate financial problems. The al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the Gaza Strip, a region with extremely high levels of unemployment and poverty. Monitoring -------------- ¶4. Due to USG restrictions on travel to Gaza by American staff, ConGen oversight of the al-Maghazi camp project is conducted by a local employee of the PD section who resides in Gaza. WALLES