Gaza – 20/10/2019 – During ceremonies held in Al-Nuseirat, Rafah and Gaza, the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine signed contracts with the 298 beneficiaries of the “Afaq Youth Employment in the Gaza Strip” implemented by DWRC in cooperation with the Ministry of Education as part of the “Gaza Emergency Cash for Work and Self-Employment Support Project” managed by the NGO Development Center (NDC) and funded by the World Bank. The Afaq project aims at reducing unemployment and poverty rates by creating job opportunities for young people towards having a positive impact on the level of education of primary school pupils.
On 17/10/2019, DWRC signed 50 contracts with unemployed graduates and workers from the Middle governorate during a ceremony held in Al-Nuseirat. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Alaa Ghalayini, Manager of the NGOs Development Center in Gaza, and Mrs. Azhar, Programs Manager at NDC, Mr. Hisham Al-Haj, Director at the Ministry of Education’s Directorate in the Middle Governorate, as well as representatives of NGOs, women’s organizations and trade unions. Another 52 contracts were signed on 18/10/2019 in the Rafah governorate, while 196 contracts were signed on 20/10/2019 at DWRC Gaza office in Al-Rimal.
The beneficiaries of the Afaq project, 184 of whom are women, will be employed for 6 months at public primary schools as assistant teachers or janitors, thus providing temporary jobs to unemployed graduates and workers, while supporting the provision of quality education services to children in Rafah, the Middle governorate and Gaza. At the same time, the beneficiaries of the project will be able to acquire valuable job experience and skills. The beneficiaries were selected in a transparent manner based on several criteria, among them being in the age group 18-34 years old, being unemployed for a year or more, being from a family facing difficult socio-economic conditions, being residents in the targeted governorates, having graduated since one year at least and being specialized in primary education for those applying for assistant teacher positions.