The living conditions of the population in the Palestinian Territories are continually deteriorating. Terre des hommes (Tdh) has set up projects for psychosocial support and the fight against malnutrition.

Health and nutrition – Our program, run in partnership with local organizations, concentrates on the nutritional welfare of the under-fives and that of expectant mothers.

Breast-feeding is encouraged during consultations or talks within the community, as more than half of the new-born children are wrongly fed in their first six months, due to the too-early introduction of powdered milk - over-diluted - and the lack of hygiene in its preparation.
Our social workers go to the homes of those children whose mothers do not bring them back for follow-ups, and there weigh, measure and examine them.

Psychosocial support - These children are frequently confronted by traumatic happenings such as family violence, the presence of armed forces or the unemployment of their fathers. In order to help them or try to cure their insomnia, nocturnal incontinence, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, depression - there is no lack of symptoms, often multiple - Tdh offers counseling, therapy or recreational activity in schools in Hebron and Jenin. Courses are being offered to teachers to detect or face up to violence and sexual abuse.

Emergency Gaza - Tdh is preparing an urgent shipment of material specifically intended for the children – warm clothes, dippers, plays as well as hygiene products for the family. As soon as we are able, we will be sending in our teams to support our partner Ard El Insan in Gaza Strip and to help them respond to the traumas undergone by these children and their families.


Tdh yesterday...
Since 1973, the primary objective of Tdh has been to reduce the suffering of the most vulnerable, by treating infantile malnutrition and distributing food. Two centers in Gaza and Bethlehem offered these services to the communities. In 1994, Tdh moved its Bethlehem center further to the south, to Hebron, to be closer to the population with the greatest need.

A strategic decision was taken in 1996 to hand over the projects to local organizations in Gaza and on the West Bank. After many years of support, two NGO's saw the light of day: Ard el Insan (Terre des hommes in Arabian) in Gaza, and Ard el Atfal (Terre des enfants/World for children) in Hebron.

In 2002, a similar program for health and nutrition was started up as a matter of urgency in Jenin, in the north of the West Bank. In 2003, Terre des hommes began an intervention of psychosocial support in Jenin and Hebron. After an initial 3-year pilot phase, in view of the need and the lack of organization on the West Bank, this project for protection was prolonged.


...and tomorrow
Each day we see a grim future for the children born in the Palestinian Territories. There are too few schools, the teachers are unpaid, and all too often the children can only go to lessons either in the morning or else in the afternoon, so that they all get a chance to attend. The psychological trauma they have been suffering for so many years is exacerbated by the recurring violence. Support is indispensable, as a generation whose childhood has been stolen is still growing up.


Real life
Zaher, 10 years old, is fidgety, hits out around him all the time, is rude to his brothers, his classmates and even his teacher . . . At home, he refuses to eat the food his mother prepares, and insists on watching his choice of television program, even when it is the violent scenes which punctuate the news or programs of an erotic nature!

At school, he refuses to join in any activities, to learn to read and write, and disturbs the others in class. Not managing himself to discipline this boy, his teacher asked for counseling from the Terre des hommes psychosocial workers. Now, twice a month, a social worker and a volunteer visit this school to offer ludic and therapeutic activities, and to pick out those children in need of special supervision or individual follow-up care.

Since then, our social assistant regularly sees Zaher at the Tdh center in Hebron, where he lives. His mother does not know how to cope with Zaher, her four other sons aged 2 to 15 years old, and above all, her brutal husband... So as to help her, a list of what Zaher may or may not do has been drawn up and pinned up at home. Each week, a balance of what he did respect, or not, is discussed with the social assistant. Progress is slow but sure, and his mother has learnt to encourage him, as there is no other way to help a child perturbed by the violence which surrounds him daily.