Community-Based Needs Assessment
Implemented in 140 locations (65 in the West Bank and 75 in Gaza), Ruwwad’s Community-Based Needs Assessment is mobilizing close to 100 youth researchers to gather information on the types of aid that marginalized communities need most. From early 2007 until mid-2008, Ruwwad youth will then use the data to help plan responses within these communities to meet their needs—with a specific focus on reaching out to the elderly, women, children, the unemployed and those with disabilities. Information will also be disseminated to USAID and its partners—in hard copies and on the web—to serve as the basis for USAID-led aid responses. As with all Ruwwad activities, youth empowerment and positive youth citizenship are at the heart of the CBNA: Young Palestinians (who are often a neglected section of society themselves) have been given a voice--so that they, in turn, can hear others speak. 
A young researcher from the National Youth Corps
takes notes
as a Gaza resident describes the
challenges facing his
neighbourhood
Voices of Youth: Young Researchers Share Their Thoughts Snapshots from the field show just how successful the young Ruwwad researchers have been in reaching out to communities—and learning from them: Abeer Maghrebi from Jericho is a 23 year old young woman who has been working on the CBNA project for two months. “Though you would expect me to understand the way things are in some parts of the West Bank at my age, I really had no idea about the reality of the situation in some of the poorest villages. Away from the cities, life is incomprehensible. I am a young woman who can make a difference to my society. This is particularly important for communities where girls do not get an education. For them, I symbolize the fact that women no longer have to observe their societies from the sidelines; like me, they too can get involved for the better.” Khaled Abu-Rabee was tasked with the difficult job of visiting the devastated village of Umm Al-Nasser in Gaza following the sewage leak that resulted in the deaths of 32 people. 70 percent of the village’s residents are between the ages of 16 and 24. The chaos with which he was confronted required a dynamic response. Khaled led a discussion of more than 100 people that day, going beyond the formalities of the questionnaire in this unique situation, allowing them to express themselves freely. The extreme nature of the emergency situation in Umm Al-Nasser made Khaled’s work all the more pertinent: “It should not have happened to begin with, I only hope that I can be part of ensuring it never happens again.” Sixty-two percent of the population of Gaza and the West Bank are youth--and as such, they are ideal candidates for the task of reaching out to marginalized local communities. In the process, the young men and women also learn technical skills such as field data collection, humanitarian project management, team facilitation as well as communication and presentation skills: skills that will prepare them well for the job market, and for being active citizens.
A young resident of Rafah offers
flowers to visiting Ruwwad
data-collectors.For Majdi Abudeen, 24 years old, taking part in the CBNA has made him realize just how important these skills are—and how all Palestinians should have the chance to learn them. He has conducted research in Jabaa’, Wadi Nees, Wadi Rahal and in Al-Azza refugee camp, noting that “in focus group discussions with various members of Al-Azza camp I was told the changes that they would like to have made. They filled out questionnaires too. They need clean water and hardly any of the people have access to university education. I have been to Al Quds University to do a Bachelor’s degree in Business and I know how essential it has been for me. I want to make a difference so that hopefully, one day, everybody who wants to go [to school] can achieve their dream.”
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