The situation in the Gaza Strip is an unprecedented emergency: the consequences of the war are devastating, and the difficulty in obtaining any basic necessities puts the survival of the entire civilian population at great risk.
An intervention is necessary, and it needs to be immediate. Pro Terra Sancta is active in the Gaza Strip to assist the most vulnerable families, particularly the Christian ones: they represent a small minority of about 1,300 people who are discriminated against and hindered in various ways, adding significant hardship to an already dire situation.
The Association is committed to addressing the most basic needs by collecting and distributing food, medicine, and infant supplies. The difficulties encountered in trying to deliver any type of resources to Gaza are numerous and constant, but thanks to a network of organizations present in the area and the personnel of the Catholic parish of Gaza City, we are managing to provide tangible assistance to the population of the Strip, supporting them in their primary needs and addressing their most urgent necessities.
Through collaboration with the "On the Path of Charity" association, established by a group of Muslim women based in Bethlehem, we distribute clothes, blankets, food items, and first aid kits containing basic medicines to about 300 families living in refugee camps in Southern Gaza. The packages containing essential goods are prepared in Bethlehem, and we involve local children in the initiative to raise awareness of the importance of solidarity.
The premises of the Latin parish of Gaza City provide shelter to hundreds of displaced people: currently, 700 people who no longer have a home to return to take refuge there. Our commitment focuses on providing them with all the initial assistance possible, particularly by ensuring the distribution of food, medicine, first aid kits, infant products, clothes, and blankets.
Pro Terra Sancta pays special attention to people with disabilities, who are too often forgotten, overwhelmed by the turmoil of war and the economic and social crisis. In this mission, the Association supports the religious leaders of the Gaza parish and involves disabled individuals in various projects; an example is the support for the "Afta-Luna for deaf children" association in Gaza and Bethlehem, which creates local products with disabled children. The most significant effort we carry out in this regard, together with Caritas and the Latin parish, is the care and accommodation of the 30 "butterfly children" of Gaza: they are children affected by rare diseases related to epidermolysis bullosa, which causes extremely fragile skin that cannot be touched in any way. These children are constantly in need of medical support, physiotherapy, creams, antibiotics, special shoes, bandages to avoid contact even with their own clothes, and in a situation like that afflicting the Gaza Strip, they are left behind, forgotten. But we do not want to forget them.
