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UNRWA to receive Award for International Commitment

By AAI
AAI
Posted on Thursday April 9, 2009

This year at the 11th annual Kahlil Gibran Awards gala, the Arab American Institute Foundation will be recognizing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East for their international commitment to serving and improving the conditions of Palestinian refugees. On April 23rd, UNRWA will be presented with the Award for International Commitment for their continuous humanitarian work.

Why UNRWA?

For over sixty years, UNRWA has provided education, healthcare, social services and emergency aid to over 4.6 million refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic. During the recent conflict in Gaza, UNRWA’s humanitarian mission was tested at all levels, and was the principal source of relief and recovery for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians affected by the hostilities. UNRWA staff worked tirelessly, often at grave personal risk, during the attacks. Since the ceasefire they have been working to restore education and primary health care, provide emergency food aid, cash assistance and job creation programs, repair civilian homes and UNRWA facilities, and offer psycho-social support to the most traumatized Gazans, including the children in UNRWA schools.