Strengthening households’ preparedness and response capacity to the winter season and improve safe access to sanitation for most vulnerable people in Khan Younis Governorate The Palestinian Environmental Friends Association (PEF) has proposed a project that aims to strengthening households’ preparedness and response capacity to the winter season through providing winterization and flood mitigation assistance and improve safe access to sanitation for the most vulnerable people who suffers from unserved, and underserved sanitation services in Khan Younis Governorate. 
PEF in coordination with Abasan Alkaberia and Abasan Al Jadeeda Municipalities,PWA, and CMWU and with consultation with Oxfam, will establish or reformulate existing gender-balanced community committees to be the Project Community Committees. PEF will ensure coordination with the other stakeholders, including WASH Cluster AAH as an area focal point in Khan Younis, and WASH members. PEF will conduct orientation and pre-post sessions, and community engagement activities to ensure complementarity, accountability and transparency.
This WASH intervention will be implemented through contracting a specialized local contractor for rehabilitation/constructing new septic system at vulnerable households within a timeframe of 6 months in the following areas of intervention: Abasan Alkabera and Abasan Aljadeeda, in Khan Younis Governorates in Gaza Strip.
Throughout this action and with the consultation with the PCC and targeted areas municipalities, the beneficiaries will be selected based on clear and transparent criteria including that the potentially selected family/household with family members not less than 9 members socio-economic vulnerable and poor families with no or limited income, which will be approved by the ministry of social development (MoSD) female-headed family and has one or more persons with disabilities  and has no septic tank, or has a damaged septic tank, or old and flooded cesspit. The criteria will be set on scoring system and eligible beneficiaries will be selected by ranking. Selected beneficiaries will be cross-checked with the MoSD for finally selection. The total number of beneficiaries is living in 120 HHs (1080 individuals: (248 men, 249 women, 281 girls, 302 boys) most impacted by fragile living conditions including lack of winterization preparedness and emergency response, and lack of improved access to sanitation in areas not served by municipal sewage services and suffers from the flooding and accumulation of wastewater. 
PEF will ensure protection mainstreaming apply “do no harm” principles, and risk mitigation by transparency in targeting beneficiaries and avoiding unnecessary exposure to prevent harm to the communities. PEF will ensure that targeted beneficiaries are actively engaged in all the phases of the project to foster a community-based approach through direct implementation methodology whereby vulnerable people 
PEF has a strong understanding of the current context, has a proven ability to manage contractual obligations of contractors, and is fully aware of OCHA's contractual and procurement guidelines.
The rehabilitation/ construction work of new septic system will be undertaken by experienced local contractor based on a competitive tendering process. PEF will be involved in the day-to-day implementation and will prepare monthly updates to measure progress on milestones and final progress reports submitted to OCHA.
The project aligns with the oPt Humanitarian Fund 1st Standard Allocation 2021 Strategy Paper that aims to support all HRP strategic objectives, named “SO2: The basic needs of vulnerable Palestinians living under occupation are met through the provision of quality basic services and improved access to resources, in accordance with the rights of protected persons under international humanitarian law (IHL)” and “SO 3: The capacity of vulnerable Palestinians to cope with and overcome a protracted crisis, including from environmental threats, is supported, while solutions to violations and other root causes of threats and shocks are pursued”.