CLWR and partners have been working tirelessly to provide essential support to those affected by the conflict in Gaza since the onset of the crisis in October 2023. While the war has brought horror on so many, your response made a real difference in helping families make it to the other side of this crisis, and we want you to know that your partnership will be critical in helping thousands of families rebuild now.
In Gaza, where millions have been displaced, a lack of access to clean water and sanitation became its own crisis, particularly in overcrowded shelters. Because of your support, our local partners have worked diligently since early in this crisis to repair and maintain water and sanitation infrastructure, making sure thousands of families have clean water, and avoided the spread of deadly diseases.
We’ve also been providing emergency cash support to families fleeing bombing, so they were able to get food and other urgent family needs in the cities they fled to. Through Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Jerusalem, we supported shipment of emergency medical supplies into Gaza and the evacuation of patients.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, which has seen a dramatic increase of violence, our partners LWF Jerusalem has been offering mental health services to students attending vocational training centers. We have also provided tuition assistance to Palestinian youth whose education has been disrupted by the war.
In January 2025, our response enters a new phase as we expand our support to provide adequate access to safe water for drinking and cooking through daily water trucking and distribution of water tanks. We are also providing education on the dangers of unexploded bombs and landmines, along with emergency preparedness training.
We must be honest, though, that while your support has been so vital and literally lifesaving, a ray of hope in the most awful circumstances, it is difficult to even comprehend the scale of need among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The news of a ceasefire in Gaza is an answer to prayer, and now we must pray urgently that from here, all parties can build a lasting, just peace. The ceasefire offers a critical chance at increased humanitarian access so that organizations like us can reach the many hundreds of thousands of people in urgent need. During this fragile window, the true extent of the need in Gaza will become more clear. We ask you and your congregation to pray urgently for these efforts, for all those in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel affected by violence and injustice, and for a just and lasting peace.
Your partnership has been of enormous significance and will be critical in this period ahead – thank you for your generosity, and for joining us in prayer.
Children living in a shelter use sanitation
facilities repaired and maintained by CLWR partners.
(Photo: DanChurchAid/NorwegianChurchAid)
CLWR partners working to repair crucial water and
sanitation infrastructure damaged during the conflict.
(Photo: DanChurchAid/NorwegianChurchAid)
