Campaign Update: More than 3,500 people from Gaza have benefited from our free mental health support and interventions
Your steadfast support has propelled us closer to fulfilling our mission of providing vital mental health assistance to our people in Gaza. With your generosity, we've raised an impressive $92,459, enabling us to reach more than 3,500 individuals in the Gaza Strip and provide them with essential mental health support.
Through our interactive and professional workshops, counseling sessions, and guidance offered via phone calls, we've been able to address the immediate needs of those grappling with the profound challenges of the ongoing crisis. Additionally, we've facilitated referrals to other organizations and individuals on the ground to ensure access to basic necessities such as shelters (tents), food, and medical supplies.
As we continue to expand our reach, it becomes increasingly clear just how critical mental health interventions are in this context. The feedback from participants in our workshops underscores the significant impact of these interventions, with many expressing a keen interest in continuing to participate in similar sessions. However, our journey is far from over, and we need your continued support to reach our extended goal of $100,000, allowing us to expand our efforts and reach even more individuals in need.
Recent Achievements:
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Psychological Support Groups from North to South of Gaza: We've made significant strides in providing crucial psychological support to those affected by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Our efforts have included facilitating support groups led by experienced mental health professionals, which have directly assisted more than 1,800 individuals from Gaza. These sessions focus on equipping participants with stress relief tools amidst the challenges of war and genocide, empowering them to express themselves through various activities such as painting, play, and engaging with the Tree of Life concept, as well as other activities that enabled participants to discharge and be aware about the mental health challenges they are facing.
- Hotline Implementation: Despite challenges, we've successfully established a toll-free hotline in collaboration with PALTEL Group. This hotline not only offers mental support but also serves as a resource for basic needs such as food supplies, hygiene materials, medications, and shelters.
Why Your Contribution Matters:
Your donation, regardless of the amount, can empower individuals in Gaza to participate in vital mental health support groups led by experienced professionals. Together, we can make a tangible difference in the lives of those struggling in Gaza.
Join Us in Making a Difference:
Help us reach our goal of $100,000 and expand access to crucial mental health services in Gaza. Your contribution can be the lifeline someone desperately needs during these challenging times. Act now and be a part of this critical mission to bring peace and healing to the hearts and minds of those who need it most.
Check out our progress report published in January, 2024.
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Previous Updates
We want to express our sincere gratitude for your generous contributions to our campaign aimed at establishing a psychological first aid hotline for the people in the Gaza Strip. Thanks to your support, we have successfully raised over $79,000, which will enable us to provide psychological first aid and support to more than 1,500 individuals in Gaza.
We are pleased to provide you with an update on our progress. We have signed a contract with JAWWAL- Paltel Group, a key partner that will assist us with the technical aspects of the hotline's implementation. Additionally, we are collaborating with them to send SMS messages to inform people in the Gaza Strip about the hotline's launch and how to access its services.
We collaborated with Sharek Youth Forum to provide 10 support groups for 200 employees from Gaza who were staying in shelters in the West Bank and recently they went back to Gaza.
In addition, we provided specialized training to 25 volunteers who offered psychological first aid and low intensity intervention to Gaza Strip workers displaced to the West Bank and stayed there for 1.5 months and currently most of them went back to Gaza.
We created a training for the first phase of 20 mental health professionals that have experience in providing psychological first aid in-person. We customized this training to be relevant for the un-regular situation in Gaza and make these professionals ready to provide a tailored support for our people in Gaza.
We will publish soon the hotline guidelines in Arabic, that will be accessible for mental health professionals and organizations that are interested in providing mental health support for people from Gaza. These guidelines and the professional training are being supervised and created by Dr. Fathi Fleifel, Mr. Hassan Faraj and Ms. Juman Mazzawi, all of them have a great experience in building or working on hotlines and training teams to be ready for providing psychological first aid and support.
Hotline # is 1800-200-800.
Your continued support is essential as we work to expand access to mental health services in the West Bank & Gaza.
Next Phase:
We aim to raise the campaign amount to $100,000, and we need your support to achieve this target. By reaching this funding milestone, we will be able to significantly enhance our impact and expand access to crucial mental health services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This increased funding will enable us to provide a broader range of services, including long-term therapy and counseling. Our ultimate mission is to reach as many individuals as possible, extending vital mental health support to those in need. Your contributions are crucial in helping us realize this vision.
Milestones Achieved:
- We have signed a contract with JAWWAL- Paltel Group, a key partner that will assist us with the technical aspects of the hotline's implementation.
- We expect that the hotline will be up and running at the beginning of next week.
- To easily raise awareness about the hotline and reach as much people as possible from Gaza we are collaborating with Jawwal & Paltel Group to send SMS messages to inform people in the Gaza Strip about the hotline's launch and how to access its services.
- We launched a series of live sessions to raise awareness about the psychological challenges that people would face in Palestine because of the current ongoing situation. So far, we hosted four live sessions with prominent mental health professionals including Dr. Samah Jabr and Dr. Gabor Mate.
- This week, we initiated the first support group in collaboration with the Sharek Youth Forum for 25 employees from Gaza who are currently living in the West Bank. This initiative is a critical part of our efforts, and we aim to extend support to up to 700 employees currently residing in Ramallah. In collaboration with Sharek Youth Forum, on November 1st, Hakini provided specialized training to 25 volunteers who will offer psychological first aid to Gaza Strip workers displaced to the West Bank after being forced to leave their permanent jobs by the Israeli government starting from October 7th, with no possibility of returning to Gaza.
- We provided a five hours of training on Psychological First Aid and Low Intensity Interventions for 20 volunteers from Sharek Youth Forum.
- The next phase involves actively training the first group of listeners and volunteers from the faculties of medicine, psychology, and nursing, to be ready to establish the hotline. Your continued support is essential as we work to expand access to mental health services in the region.
Additional Interventions to be Provided
The dire need for mental health services for people from Gaza either currently facing the war directly, or staying in shelters in the West Bank increases our responsibility to provide additional mental health support and services. Because of that we decided to increase the total amount of the campaign to be $60k USD. This additional support will enable us to provide more psychological interventions at advanced level for the short and long term.
Such interventions will include the following:
- Provide 28 support groups to 700 employees from Gaza who are currently staying in the West Bank and are not able to go back to Gaza or meet their families because of the situation.
- Create psychological interventions for women and children or families from Gaza who are currently staying in the West Bank hospitals and getting medical services, most of these people are with chronic diseases and are highly affected because of the current situation. The purpose is to provide 15 support groups for these people currently staying in Ramallah.
- When applicable provide free counseling and therapy sessions for people that need it and who should get advanced psychological interventions. We aim to provide 1,000 counseling sessions with the aim to increase it to 3,000 sessions based on the need and the demand for such services.
- Replicate the psychological interventions for employees from Gaza to several cities in the West Bank such as Nablus, Jenin and Jericho where currently, there is an estimated number of more than 15,000 employees from Gaza staying in different places in the West Bank.
The Original Campaign:
A Mental Health Crisis in Gaza
The people of Gaza are enduring collective punishment, facing severe shortages of water, food, and electricity. The situation has become unbearable for everyone, and the recent bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital has deeply shaken our community, causing immense pain. Until this moment (November 1st, 2023), over 8,300 people have been killed.
In these critical circumstances, the need for mental health support is urgent. Gaza, with its population of over 2.2 million crammed into just 365 square kilometers, ranks as one of the most densely populated places on Earth. Recent studies indicate that over half of Palestinians are grappling with depression, with a staggering 71% of those in Gaza affected.
What is our Plan?
Hakini is a Palestinian social impact-driven enterprise that offers mental health services in the Arab world. In collaboration with our partner, BuildPalestine, a Palestinian organization that supports innovative social enterprises like Hakini, we aim to set up a hotline for our people in Gaza to be able to provide them with Psychological First Aid.
While we acknowledge that offering psychological first aid to individuals in Gaza may pose current challenges and feasibility concerns, we firmly believe that such support will be of utmost importance right now within what the situation permits, and we can expand our services faster once this aggression on Gaza hopefully ends. Furthermore, our strategic plan includes providing this vital assistance to the Gazan workers who had to leave their workplaces in the occupied 1948 lands to the West Bank and leave their families in Gaza.
What is Psychological First Aid?
Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a method of providing initial psychological and emotional support to individuals who have experienced a traumatic event or crisis. It is a compassionate and practical approach that aims to help people cope with their immediate emotional reactions and reduce the risk of long-term psychological distress.
Psychological First Aid conducted via a hotline during times of crisis, adheres key principles:
- Safety and Comfort: Ensure the physical safety and comfort of the individual in distress is paramount. The hotline operator should create a non-judgmental, empathetic, and supportive environment.
- Practical Assistance: Offering practical assistance by providing information and resources that can address the individual's immediate needs or concerns.
- Calming and Reassurance: Providing reassurance and helping the person to feel calm and more at ease by offering a listening ear and emotional support.
- Active Listening: Actively listening to the person's concerns, thoughts, and feelings without pushing them to divulge more than they are comfortable sharing.
- No Pressure: Avoid any pressure for the individual to disclose sensitive information or revisit traumatic events unless they choose to do so voluntarily.
- Cultural Sensitivity: Recognizing and respecting cultural, social, and individual differences in coping with distress.
- Linking to Support: Offering information on available immediate and long-term support services that can further assist the individual.
- Self-Care: Promoting self-care strategies and coping mechanisms that the individual can utilize to manage their emotional well-being.
How are we going to set it up?
We are raising $27,550 to implement the following plan. The number of beneficiaries starts from 1,000 people and goes up to 5,000 in the first phase of support.
To provide this support, we need to implement the following activities:
Create a toll-free hotline in collaboration with one of the well-known telecommunication companies in Palestine.
Train a group of 25 volunteers and first responders.
Rent a place for the trained volunteers to provide the support.
Provide psychological first aid support to people who already joined our list of beneficiaries.
Provide advanced intervention in case it is applicable and relevant through licensed mental health professionals.
Host live sessions and podcasts with mental health professionals that can provide important information about the mental health challenges that people would face during and after the war and how they can be able to overcome these challenges and be aware of them.
Psychological Support Fund
We widened the plan above to increase the number of beneficiaries from mental health support services in Gaza and the West Bank. Because of that we increased total amount of the campaign to be $60k USD.
This additional support will enable us to provide more psychological interventions at advanced level for the short and long term.
Such interventions will include the following:
- Provide 28 support groups to 700 employees from Gaza who are currently staying in the West Bank and are not able to go back to Gaza or meet their families because of the situation.
- Create psychological interventions for women and children or families from Gaza who are currently staying in the West Bank hospitals and getting medical services, most of these people are with chronic diseases and are highly affected because of the current situation. The purpose is to provide 15 support groups for these people currently staying in Ramallah.
- When applicable provide free counseling and therapy sessions for people that need it and who should get advanced psychological interventions. We aim to provide 1,000 counseling sessions with the aim to increase it to 3,000 sessions based on the need and the demand for such services.
- Replicate the psychological interventions for employees from Gaza to several cities in the West Bank such as Nablus, Jenin and Jericho where currently, there is an estimated number of more than 15,000 employees from Gaza staying in different places in the West Bank.
Get Involved
In times of crisis, innovation is our beacon of hope. By contributing to this campaign, you are helping us establish a vital lifeline – a free hotline that will provide much-needed psychological first aid to the people of Gaza. Your support can make a tangible difference, bringing solace to those in pain and helping rebuild shattered lives. Join us in this compassionate endeavor, and let's work together to bring peace and healing to the hearts and minds of those who need it most. Your donation, no matter the size, can be a powerful force for change. Act now and be a part of this critical mission to save Gaza.
About Hakini
Hakini provides mental health services in Palestine and around the world. Our mission is to make mental health services accessible and practical for all individuals, supporting them in enhancing their mental well-being. Originating from the Arabic word "tell me," Hakini is dedicated to meeting the needs of both individuals and organizations.
We utilize our website and mobile application to promote mental health awareness and offer an array of self-help resources. These include pre-recorded exercises, programs, courses, and meditation sessions that are guided and based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach (CBT). In addition, Hakini provides content creation tailored to organizations, workshops and webinars, online counseling sessions, and the option to choose a counselor from our selection for personalized one-on-one consultations.
Our goal is to provide a safe environment that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. What sets us apart is our holistic approach to mental health accessibility. We bridge the awareness-prevention-intervention spectrum, offering tailored services at every stage.
About BuildPalestine
BuildPalestine is the address for social innovation in Palestine. With a mission of empowering social enterprises in Palestine, BuildPalestine works actively to connect Palestine's most innovative social entrepreneurs to the resources, networks, and funding they need to create a sustainable impact in Palestine. Learn more from here.