December 3, 2007

USAID Mission Director Visits ACDI/VOCA Beneficiaries in the West Bank

On November 20, USAID Mission Director Howard Sumka visited ACDI/VOCA’s beneficiaries in Dar Salah of ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded, $5 million West Bank Food Security Program. Under the project, USAID and ACDI/VOCA work with the local NGO Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ) and Palestinian communities in 14 villages in the Bethlehem and Hebron districts to support basic food production and livelihood strengthening for large populations of poor, marginalized households with high unemployment. Sumka was accompanied by Mike Martin and Taghrid Lahham from USAID’s Private Sector Office.

During his visit, Sumka saw how USAID, ACDI/VOCA and ARIJ collaborate to help households overcome food insecurity through household fruit and vegetable cultivation. The project helps beneficiaries create gardens by rehabilitating land, improving agricultural practices and constructing cisterns, greenhouses and gray wastewater treatment units for agricultural reuse. The project also installs drip irrigation and trains each household in practical, home-based agricultural production.

ACDI/VOCA and ARIJ work closely with community leaders to identify needy households and assess applications to either install a cistern, gray wastewater treatment unit or small greenhouse, depending on the household’s specific need and water situation. Households cover certain costs or provide matching labor and/or other in-kind support. To date, 450 home gardens are producing vegetables, and by May 2008 ACDI/VOCA and ARIJ will have established a total of 700 home gardens. The rural household support program also enables households to sell surplus produce to generate additional income and help meet the widespread food security need in these communities. The project provides improved access to and use of productive assets for household investment for 4,900 family members.

The visit concluded with a ceremony acknowledging USAID support and airing community feedback. Beneficiaries and community leaders, along with officials from Palestinian bodies, acknowledged the project’s impact. Mohammad Radaideh, a member of the project community committee of Al-Ubeidieyh village, commended the project implementation and beneficiary selection process, saying it was characterized by transparency and proficiency rather than bias. In addition, Hifa' Mubarak, a beneficiary from Dar Salah village, thanked USAID, ACDI/VOCA and ARIJ for implementing such a vital and important project in Bethlehem and Hebron villages. She said that the project has done important work in helping beneficiaries cultivate their land, clean the environment and access clean water.

Other expected results of the project include harvesting and storage capacity for up to 14,000 cubic meters annually of water through cistern construction; improved cropping, cultivation and pest management practices; collection and treatment of 13,000 cubic meters annually of gray wastewater for agriculture and decreased household expenditure on water along with generally more prudent water use. To learn more about ACDI/VOCA’s project, click here.