IsraAIDHumanitarian Aid Agency

IsraAID.org

Founded in 2001, IsraAID is an Israel-based international non-profit, non-governmental organization that has led aid and development programs in 31 countries

When & Where

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IsraAID operates in countries affected by war, natural disaster, acute poverty and massive displacement. Our teams arrive during a time of crisis, facilitate a

transition to long-term stability, and then exit within 5 years.

Crisis

What & How

1-3 MonthsEmergency AidMedical ServicesTrauma Prevention

3-5 Years

Our mission is to efficiently meet the changing needs of populations as they move from crisis to reconstruction/rehabilitation, and eventually, to sustainable

living.

Multi-sector Capacity-BuildingAdvocacy

Professionalism One of IsraAID’s trademarks is its ability to draw from ever-expanding networks of experienced professionals. From world leading therapists to top agronomists, IsraAID offers quality technical expertise.

Innovation & Dynamism Every crisis is different, and so are the people it affects. After more than a decade operating in some of the most challeng-ing places around the globe, IsraAID offers proven and adaptable response mechanisms.

Partnership & SustainabilityIsraAID is a firm believer in local ownership and partners with all relevant stakeholders operating in a crisis to build inclusive and participatory programs.

Cultural Sensitivity and Adaptability Every culture is different, and respecting them equally is vital to earning trust and building long-term partnerships for change. From cultural orientations to on-the-ground adaptation and innovation, IsraAID continuously assesses needs, and adjusts its programs accordingly.

Monitoring and EvaluationIsraAID views evaluation as an integral part of every initiative and as a powerful tool for program improvement. Our approach emphasizes collaboration among all stake-holders to identify and evaluate obtainable and measurable objectives.

IsraAID Over a Decade of Humanitarian Aid & Development

Since its inception in 2001, IsraAID has become synonymous with a rapid response to humanitarian crises. Its medical teams, search & rescue units, post trauma experts, community specialists and other professionals have led international responses in natural disasters and civil strife around the world. After the initial emergency period, IsraAID shifts to long-term programs, all to accompany communities and governments as they strive to build a better tomorrow.

IsraAID’s success is built on the following core values

AidRapid and cost-effective, IsraAID aid distributions ensure each dollar reaches the most people in a dignified and accountable manner.

MHPSSWith an established roster of over 100 top social workers, psychologists, therapists, and group facilitators, IsraAID’s Mental Health and Psycho-Social Services (MHPSS) training programs are gaining international renown for prevening trauma, increasing coping mechanisms, and generally improving resilience post-crisis.

TechnologyFrom customized phone applications (APP) to support the fight against Ebola, to innovative water filtration systems developed in Kenya, IsraAID engages world leading experts and communities to together find the right combination of high and low-tech solutions to meet community needs and improve services.

WASHIsrael is a world leader in water technology and management, and IsraAID’s Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) training programs combine these technological innovations with key public health initiatives.

GBVGender-Based Violence (GBV) destroys lives, families, and communities, and combating it through training and advocacy is one of IsraAID’s core strategies for development.

HealthDynamic and resourceful, IsraAID’s Emergency Medical Team (IEMT) is always on stand-by, and routinely support hospitals and medical centers in need around the world.

LivelihoodIsraAID’s agriculture and fishery training programs promote sustainability by sharing ways to improve nutrition and income generation.

IsraAID Expertise

IsraAID Around the Globe

Bosnia & HerzegovinaBulgaria

Central African RepublicChad/Darfur

ChinaCroatia

D.R.CongoGeorgiaGreeceGuyana

Haiti

IndiaIraq

JapanJordanKenya

South KoreaLiberiaMalawi

MyanmarNepal

Pakistan

PeruPhilippines

SerbiaSierra Leone

Sri LankaSouth Sudan

ThailandUnited States of America

Vanuatu

Past Programs | Current Programs

On the 2nd of September, 2015, pictures of the lifeless body of 3 year old Aylan Kurdi captured the full extent of the human tragedy unfolding on European shores. Every day, up to 10,000 mostly Syrian refugees, fleeing conflict and violence, attempt the treacherous journey to Western Europe. Entire families arrive on the Greek islands tired, sick, and traumatized, with the number of fatal boat incident growing daily.

IsraAID has emergency teams both on the beaches in Greece and at key border points in Croatia.

At the first point of contact, on the shores of Lesbos, Greece, IsraAID’s predominantly Arabic speaking teams are providing life-saving medical services and Psychological First Aid (PFA) for traumatized and grief-stricken families and survivors of boating accidents.

Further along the journey, IsraAID’s mobile relief teams are present in camps and on the borders of Croatia and Serbia to provide protection services, distribute emergency supplies, and identify special needs groups, emphasizing children.

Europe Refugee Crisis

Since January 2014, the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) has welcomed more than 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the unrest in other parts of Iraq. Those newly displaced add-up to around 200,000 IDPS from previous waves of violence since 2003, and to over 200,000 refugees coming from Syria. They are coming with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs, and in conditions of extreme heat in the summer and sustained cold and snow in the winter, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate.

IsraAID, in partnership with a Canadian partner, is providing emergency relief items to thousands of displaced Yezidi and Christian families, and is launching education projects to support the overwhelmed Kurdish education system.

Iraq

After Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu on the 13th of March 2015, destroying nearly all the buildings in the country, IsraAID arrived to distribute food and water to desperate and starving communities throughout the country’s many remote islands. Next, farm kits, filters and water harvesting systems were delivered to assist in the reconstruction and recovery, and provide mid-term relief.

During this period, Psychosocial First Aid training for care providers was initiated to deal with the extreme shock and devastation suffered by nearly the entire country. This led to an on-going partnership with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization to establish a sustainable MHPSS response framework in Vanuatu based on community leaders, welfare personnel and clinical staff.

Finally, IsraAID’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) team is building a sustainable water system that will reach 640 beneficiaries in the surrounding villages, based on an innovative and disaster-resistant gravity-based concept.

Vanuatu

On November 8th 2013, the most powerful typhoon to have made landfall in modern times struck the Philippines. IsraAID’s Medical Emergency Response Team was on a plane less than 72 hours later.

For 2 months, in Tacloban and Ormoc, IsraAID provided medical care, relief aid, and fishing boats to over 10,000 people. Since then, the organization has launched long-term support program, focusing on building the MHPSS capacity of the government and third sector in Ormoc and its surrounding areas. In the fall of 2014, an agriculture program was launched to assist vulnerable communities as they strive to attain food security and basic livelihood.

Philippines

IsraAID has been operating in South Korea since February 2013, supporting social workers, NGO workers, counselors, and PHD and MA students from Yonsei University in their efforts to treat and support North Korean defectors suffering from trauma and mental scarring. Training programs focus on practical techniques for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) treatment based on a unique trauma care model developed in Israel.

In the aftermath of the tragic Sewol Ferry incident in 2014, IsraAID was requested to implement a 2-year support program to provide psychologists, social workers, school counselors, NGO workers and teachers with practical tools to aid the process of coping, and provide assistance and/or prevent PTSD in the affected community.

South Korea

On March 11th 2011, Japan was hit by a powerful earthquake and a resulting tsunami that damaged more than 500,000 buildings, and leaving 20,000 dead and 250,000 homeless in its wake. The earthquake also caused serious damage to the nuclear plant in Fukushima, resulting in a dangerous leak.

Within a week, IsraAID arrived in Tohoku to provide immediate relief before shifting to capacity-building, training local professionals to help affected communities overcome trauma, increase resilience, and build the capacity to respond in the future. Thousands of professionals have been trained across a dozen cities, and tens of thousands have been reached.

In 2012, IsraAID expanded its operations to include a youth empowerment and vocational training program, as well as ‘Voices of Tohoku’ - a life-story documentation project that allows hundreds of Tohoku survivors to tell their story in front of a camera and create a digital archive for each community.

IsraAID’s latest initiative in Japan has been the ‘Tell us a Story Japan’ project to map out and raise awareness to the impact of organizations in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

Japan

On April 25th, 2015, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake with extensive aftershocks devastated Nepal, taking the lives of over 8,000 people, and injuring 15,000 more. In total, over 600,000 homes were damaged, putting 8.1 million in dire need of humanitarian aid and long-term support.

Immediately, IsraAID’s Search and Rescue (SAR) and Medical Emergency Relief (MER) teams were dispatched to Nepal, staying for weeks to save lives and provide emergency care in both urban and rural settings. A Back to School program was also in itiated to deliver school kits for over 4,000 children, while 260 semi-permanent homes were built in the most affected areas, with an additional 360 scheduled.

As programs transition to long-term recovery, a Mental Health and PsychoSocial Support (MHPSS) unit was added, in collaboration with Nepalese government ministries, UN agencies, and national actors to build and implement a national MHPSS response strategy. The goal is to prevent trauma-related disorders, create resilience for children and adults, and encourage social reintegration of child and adult survivors.

Finally, to promote economic recovery and empower women, a bee-keeping income generation program was launched in August 2015.

Nepal

After Cyclone Pam struck Vanuatu on March 13th 2015, destroying nearly all the buildings in the country, IsraAID arrived to distribute food and water for desperate and starving communities throughout the country’s many remote islands. Next, farm kits, filters and water harvesting systems, were delivered to assist in the reconstruction and recovery, and provide mid-term relief.

During this period, Psychosocial First Aid training for care providers was initiated to deal with the extreme shock and devastation suffered by nearly the entire country. This led to an on-going partnership with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization to establish a sustainable MHPSS response framework in Vanuatu based on community leaders, welfare personnel and clinical staff.

Finally, IsraAID’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) team is building a sustainable water system that will reach 640 beneficiaries in the surrounding villages, based on an innovative and disaster-resistant gravity-based concept.

Vanuatu

In July 2015, catastrophic rainfall flooded most of the country, displacing hundreds of thousands, and endangering the livelihood and food security of over 1.6 million people.

IsraAID sent an emergency response team that immediately provided food, water, and hygiene kits for hundreds of families, and provided sanitation solutions for more than 500 households.

Since then, IsraAID is providing technical training to government, UN, and non-profit professionals, focusing on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Mental Health and PsychoSocial Services (MHPSS).

Myanmar

Today, more than 75% of Ugandans do not have access to adequate sanitation, leading to over 8,000 child fatalities annually. In the North, these challenges are compounded by the ravages of decades of conflict, in particular the challenging rehabilitation of returning former child soldiers from the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Partnering with Gulu University and the Ugandan Ministry of Water and the Environment, IsraAID is providing practical and tailor-made Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) training for war affected people in rural communities.

The WASH and Water Management and Technology (WaMTec) program will both increase local well-being through WASH home-management skills and provide an accredited certificate improving employment and livelihood opportunities.

Uganda

In 2011, the horn of Africa suffered its worst drought in 60 years. Dubbed the ‘world’s worst food crisis’ by the UN, hundreds of thousands died, and more than 12 million were affected. IsraAID responded to the call for help by distributing food and emergency relief items to tens of thousands of refugees and locals fleeing famine and violence.

While in the camps, a significant gap in services for trauma affected refugees was identified, and as a result IsraAID inaugurated in 2012 long-term operations in Kakuma Refugee camp, with a psycho-social support training program that is implemented in partnership with, and accredited by, Haifa University.

In 2013, IsraAID added a WASH and Water Management and Technology (WaMTec) training program to increase the employment opportunities of refugees, both now and in the future.

Finally, we are also strengthening the water drainage infrastructure of the camp, and supporting the camp hospital with additional doctors and staff.

Kenya

As the government of South Sudan struggles to build the world’s newest country, over 4 decades of civil war, tribal warfare, and poverty have had devastating effects on the country’s population. Violence, sexual abuse, and rape have become widespread, and young displaced girls are the most at-risk. IsraAID has been active in the country since July 2011, and early efforts focused on much needed relief items for hundreds of displaced Nuba refugees and to a destitute leper colony outside Juba, the capital.

In March 2012, IsraAID launched a long-term project aimed at combating rampant Gender-Based Violence (GBV) through a groundbreaking and participatory approach focusing on multi-level training for government, police, and social workers.

In 2014, following gaps in medical service-provision, IsraAID inaugurated a health program to increase the skillsets of nurses in the rural Terekeka County.

South Sudan

The Ebola crisis in West Africa has had massive and devastating effects on the entire region. The disease is suspected to have killed over 10,000 people, and infected over 25,000 more. Beyond the devastating physical impact of the disease, the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak has also caused widespread stress and trauma in the affected countries, where families of infected patients have been completely isolated by their communities, with some even resorting to violence.

In Sierra Leone and Liberia, IsraAID is partnering with the government, UN agencies, and international organizations to design and implement national MHPSS strategies for combating EVD, associated stigma, and its multi-faceted long-term destructive impact on health professionals, affected families, children, survivors, and their communities.

Finally, to assist in the eradication of Ebola, and support the crippled health systems in the affected countries, IsraAID is partnering with the UNDP to provide medical care and training for national facilities.

Sierra Leone & Liberia

“People were saying that if they were me they would have backed off but I say no because this is the real time to work and show that I am loyal to nursing and it is the time for me to join people to fight Ebola.”

From IsraAID’s “Ebola Heroes” program in Sierra Leone

Martha Swaray Nurse at Ebola treatment center

Since the civil conflict in Syria began in 2011 it has emerged as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with over 4.25 million displaced within Syria and more than 2 million refugees fleeing the violence into neighboring countries.

Beginning in 2013, IsraAID has been distributing relief items within Jordan, expanding its operations to include Mental Health and Psycho-Social Services (MHPSS) training for Syrian and Jordanian professionals operating in refugee camps.

Currently there are over 500,000 refugees in Jordan, with 3,000 crossing every day. More than 75% of the refugee population is made up of women and children.

Jordan

Since January 2014, the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) has welcomed more than 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the unrest in other parts of Iraq. Those newly displaced add-up to around 200,000 IDPS from previous waves of violence since 2003, and to over 200,000 refugees coming from Syria. They are coming with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs, and in conditions of extreme heat in the summer and sustained cold and snow in the winter, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate.

IsraAID, in partnership with a Canadian partner, is providing emergency relief items to thousands of displaced Yezidi and Christian families, and is launching education projects to support the overwhelmed Kurdish education system.

Iraq

Since January 2014, the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) has welcomed more than 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the unrest in other parts of Iraq. Those newly displaced add-up to around 200,000 IDPS from previous waves of violence since 2003, and to over 200,000 refugees coming from Syria. They arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and with weather conditions ranging from extreme heat during the summer to sustained cold and snow in the winter, the situation is desperate.

IsraAID, in partnership with a Canadian partner, is providing emergency relief items to thousands of displaced Yezidi and Christian families, and is launching education projects to support the overwhelmed Kurdish education system.

Iraq

Less than 4 days after the devastating January 2010 earthquake, IsraAID’s Medical Emergency Response Team was already in Port-Au-Prince savings lives. Since then, IsraAID has engaged in diverse programs both in the capital and in 3 rural villages around the Leogane area (the epicenter of the quake), reaching a total of over 50,000 people.

In Leogane, IsraAID constructed the Leogane Educational Access Project (LEAP) school and training center with international partners, and operated the ‘Klinik Komunite’ medical clinic which saw 60-70 patients a day for over 2 years.

IsraAID efforts to increase livelihood in the area were diverse, and included the DAM DAM project that trained 75 local women in recycled papier-mâché art and sales training to create a successful cooperative, and Haiti Grows – an intensive agriculture and marketing training program to assist 4 communities gain access to improved nutrition and livelihood.

Finally, in 2013 IsraAID launched a new program to combat increasing GBV in Port-Au-Prince by building the capacity and skills of numerous national organizations.

Haiti

Dating back to Hurricane Katrina in 2006, IsraAID has been providing emergency relief in the United States to support impoverished and challenged populations who cannot rehabilitate their homes alone.

Since then, tornadoes, winter storms, wildfires, and flooding have taken IsraAID teams to 10 states across the United States, reaching tens of thousands of people with debris removal, all implemented in cooperation with national organizations and local governments.

United States of America

ArkansasColorado

IllinoisLouisianaMichigan

New YorkOklahoma

South CarolinaTexas

Washington

IsraAID Humanitarian Aid Agency

IsraAID would like to thank its donors, supporters, partners, volunteers, and the professionals who contribut their time, resources, and expertise, without whom none of the projects would have been possible

For ways to give and support IsraAID’s work globally please enter

www.israaid.org/donate