Rehabilitation and repair of shelters to meet shelter minimum standards and assist vulnerable households exposed to weather extremes and protection concerns in the Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. In a context of exacerbated political tensions, dire economic conditions, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and May 2021 escalations, efforts to rehabilitate households against adverse extreme weather conditions, provide NFI kits and increase communities’ emergency preparedness are paramount to ensure the safety, protection and dignity of the most vulnerable, along with rapid and safe access to emergency assistance. ACTED, with the support of Unlimited Friend’s Association for Social Development (UFA) and its 3 Community-based Protection Committees (CBPCs), will implement a cash-based winterization/summerization assistance and shelter rehabilitation for most affected households (HHs) in the Gaza strip, since previous similar HF-funded projects showed beneficiaries’ high level of satisfaction and a sensitive improvement of HH living condition using this approach. This response will be combined with the distribution of urgent NFIs based on HHs’ needs. More specifically, based on needs assessments, the proposed intervention aims to support 100 vulnerable households living in damaged and/or substandard shelters with an average of $2800 and 38 vulnerable households exposed to weather extremes and protection concerns with an average $915– especially those affected by the May-2021 escalations. This cash transfer value is calculated based on past experiences and similarly implemented projects in similar targeted areas with consultation with the shelter cluster. ACTED will target the most vulnerable groups in the Middle Area, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates, including women, girls, boys, people with disabilities (PwDs) and the elderly. Selected households will benefit from the provision of a restricted cash assistance for shelter repair, as a more sustainable solution to mitigate further risks of exposure to extreme weather conditions and to rehabilitate damaged/substandard shelters. Through this project, ACTED will also strengthen community-based preparedness and emergency response. In total, 138 HHs (773 individuals) and 18 CBPC members will be supported.
The proposed intervention is fully aligned with the 2022 First Standard allocation’s priority objective 1: “Support the most vulnerable people prioritizing those affected by escalations in Gaza” and more specifically the Shelter cluster’s priority objective 1.2 of this allocation: “Providing shelter support for the most vulnerable families in Gaza”. This project aims to support the implementation of the HRP 2022 strategic objectives 2 and 3, respectively: “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 IHL” and “the capacity of vulnerable Palestinians to cope with and overcome protracted crisis, including from environmental threats, is supported, while solutions to violations and other root causes of threats and shocks are pursued”.
To support localization and ensure that even the most inaccessible beneficiaries are reached, ACTED will partner with UFA who will be responsible for the NFI distribution and replenishment activities, and who will also support conducting assessments and monitoring the rehabilitation/upgrading works by target HHs. . ACTED will rely on its CBPCs’ existing capacity to implement activities, reaching the beneficiaries, conducting the maintenance works, supporting ACTED’s Complaint and Response Mechanism, and sharing key PSEA messages with target households. These 3 CBPCs were already established under former HF-funded projects and operate in the 3 targeted governorates.
The project design endorses all Shelter Cluster recommendations, notably through the implementation of a tailored assistance that includes the provision to 138 HHs of cash-based self-help approach for shelter rehabilitation based on their needs maximizing impact on beneficiaries while fostering ownership and resilience.