French Consul General Frédéric Desagneaux, L’Agence Française de Développement and the NGO Development Center attend the inauguration of the new facilities for the Shams Center in Gaza | NDC

French Consul General Frédéric Desagneaux, L’Agence Française de Développement and the NGO Development Center attend the inauguration of the new facilities for the Shams Center in Gaza

Posting Date: 
May 19 2013
On Wednesday, May 8, French Consul General to Palestine Frédéric Desagneaux and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Country Director Herve Conan, along with Alaa Ghayalini (NDC Gaza Program Manager) attended the inauguration of the new facilities of the Shams Center, belonging to the Society for the Care of the Handicapped in the Gaza Strip. The Society has provided care for children with disabilities in the Gaza strip since 1976 through the Shams Center. The partnership with NDC and AFD has enabled them to improve their services for disabled youth, including the rehabilitation of the school and the sports hall, including new classrooms, furniture, fitness equipment and supplies. Additionally, 18 teachers received training on special education and 60 new students were brought into the center. The project also provided the children with psychosocial support and helped their families to become more familiar with techniques and methods on how to deal with the disabilities that their children have.

 

Mr. Desagneaux praised the society for being a well-renowned, reliable and pioneering organization, saying: “we knew that working with you would achieve great results for the kids”. He went on to add that “youth and education, especially for those who have special needs, are very important elements of building the future of a society—building the future of a country—and that is what we are trying to help you to do...” 

 

Mr. Dasagneaux also expressed his thanks and praise for the partnership with NDC, highlighting that together, AFD and NDC have funded eight projects throughout the Gaza Strip in the amount of 1 million Euros, working together to strengthen civil society in Gaza and the West Bank.

 

The Society for the Care of the Handicapped in the Gaza Strip is partially funded by the Palestinian NGO IV Project (PNGO IV). Focusing on service provision, PNGO IV offers support to the Palestinian NGO sector through the dissemination of grants, targeted organizational capacity building and sector development. Beginning in 2010, PNGO IV is funded by AFD and the World Bank, and managed by NDC.