Polish aid

The coronavirus pandemic first hit Palestine in March 2020, when some tourists staying at Bethlehem were diagnosed with having contracted the virus. This is when both the country’s healthcare system and economy started to have problems. It was mainly because the pandemic struck the pilgrimage tourism – one of the most important sources of profit for Palestinians.

In Dakar and Joal, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary run vocational schools for girls. The series of vocational workshops is dedicated to women aged 17-26. Young girls are taught how to use sewing machines. They can practise their sewing skills.

Real flames, high temperature, heat radiation, and hazardous substance emissions. Such were the conditions Ukrainian firefighters had to face during the training they completed in September.

Burj Barajneh is a camp located on the southern outskirts of Beirut, dating back to 1949, when it was created for Palestinian refugees fleeing from the armed conflict with Israel.

“In a new room, we can have individual sessions with our patients, uninterrupted by other people. It’s also a perfect place for group work because it is so spacious,” says happily Olga Pronina, a psychologist working with trauma victims in eastern Ukraine.

“The pandemic has not overshadowed other global crises. On the contrary, it has made them even more visible. The pandemic, together with the deteriorating humanitarian situation in countries like Yemen, Syria or Lebanon, puts the international community to an unprecedented test,” Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński emphasized at a press briefing in the gardens of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.

“Development cooperation is one of the most essential instruments for building an international position and a positive image of our country. It is also an opportunity for development, not only for those who receive assistance but also for those who provide it,” said Deputy Minister Paweł Jabłoński while meeting with entrepreneurs and NGO representatives.

Fatma is proud of her vegetable growing. She is almost equally proud of her recent pilgrimage to Mecca, which she announces on a banner outside her house in the West Bank. She has a husband, children, and, most of all, a roof that can be used for modern plant farming as soil in Palestine is a rare commodity. That is why she grows lettuce on the rooftop.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland and the United Nations Development Program IRH decided to extend the Call for Proposals to the Polish Challenge Fund competition. New deadline for submitting applications is September 30, 2020.

- One of the priorities of Polish development cooperation with Ukraine is to support victims of the conflict in Donbas, - said Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński who took part in exercises run by Polish specialists for Ukrainian psychiatrists and psychologists.