The Gaza Employment Generation through NGOs Program (GEGNP) addressed the rise of unemployment in Gaza as a result of movement restrictions caused by the blockade. There are currently 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip, more than 37% of the labor force in Gaza Strip are unemployed while 21% had been permanently affected by the destruction of businesses under the last Israeli offensive. According to the Palestine Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), unemployment is highest among people in the 15-24 year age group, which is 36% of the total population in the Gaza Strip. Young males account for 45% of the unemployed, while 93% of women in this group are unemployed.
Life and Hope Association started implementation the Gaza Employment Generation through NGOs Program in cooperation with International Relief and Development (IRD) Funded by CEP / USAID to provide the participants with valuable NGO work experiences, increasing the likelihood of acquiring further employment, and it will strengthen the association enabling it to provide better services due to the additional staff members.
Mr. Abdeljwad Zyada the LHA chairman said "the project seeks to alleviate the unemployment by to place 31 unemployed college graduates, from marginalized families, in temporary employment positions the areas of education, health and social work which contribute significantly to the integration the graduates in the labor market".
International Relief and Development (IRD) area project coordinator Mr. Mohamed Al Mozanen said" the project will target 1,142 unemployed college graduates 32 local NGOs in the Gaza Strip, creating 96,000 working days under the program. The program has also indirectly alleviated the effects of impoverishment and stimulated the fragile Gazan economy through wages earned by the participants. While it was a short-term program, the effects of GEGNP will surely have a long-term impact on the people of Gaza".
It is worth to mention that the project period is 4 months start on 1/4/2010 and ends on 31/7 / 2010.
