"No Family Left Behind"

No Family Left Behind
Permanent Housing for the neediest families among the Gush Katif Evacuees

The Aftermath of the Disengagement

Today, more than six years after the disengagement, there are seeds of renewal among the former Gush Katif communities. Approximately 33% of the families have moved to permanent housing, half of the business owners have succeeded in rehabilitating their businesses and an estimated 28% of the farmers have returned to agriculture. However, there is still a long road ahead for many families until the process of rebuilding and rehabilitation of all the communities is completed.

The Continued Need for Permanent Housing

Unfortunately, the disengagement left many Gush Katif families in severe financial crisis. Although families received financial compensation and in many cases were allocated plots of land, some families cannot afford to build on their land, a cost that has significantly risen in recent years. These circumstances are particularly acute among many families from Gush Katif who live in Nitzan, especially the Bnei Menashe, who like other families have had to use their compensation money to meet day-to-day expenses. Many of these families lost their jobs and livelihood as a result of the disengagement and have been living for six years with minimal or no income, leaving them no possibility to build a permanent home without additional support.

Currently, there are at least 70 needy families (out of a total of 500 families) who have been allocated land but lack the resources to build a house or even to relocate their pre-fab housing unit, or caravilla, to their assigned lot. As the organization which has undertaken to assist Gush Katif families attain permanent housing, the Gush Katif Committee is launching the No Family Left Behind campaign to offer financial support to families who have exhausted all of their resources and yet are still unable to secure a permanent home for their families.

Your gift to the No Family Left Behind Campaign, will provide housing solutions for the neediest Gush Katif families in two crucial ways:

Loans and/or grants for 30 families to relocate their current caravilla housing units to their assigned lots in the new communities.
Loans for 7 Bnei Menashe families who are financially able to build their own homes, to enable them to build an additional rental unit attached to their new home for a needy Bnei Menashe family.

A Permanent Home for Gush Katif Families

Currently, there are 30 families who have received a lot but are financially unable to build a home. The option of relocating their current caravilla and adapting it for permanent housing conditions is far cheaper than constructing new housing and enables these families to stay with their original community. Some of these families will need grants and others will manage with interest-free loans.

In addition, there are 7 Bnei Menashe families who are interested in building a 60-meter housing unit attached to their new home which they will, in turn, rent to a Bnei Menashe family who does not qualify for housing assistance (primarily because in Gush Katif they also lived with another family.) The units will be rented at a fixed monthly rate of approximately $400 per month which will be used to repay the construction loan over a period of 16 years.

The Bnei Menashe of Gush Katif are a tightly knit community. In order to preserve this unique community, it is essential that these families remain together in Nitzan. However, due to their financial situation, these 7 families cannot qualify for a mortgage and will not be able to acquire permanent housing without additional support.

The following stories highlight the experiences of two former
Gush Katif families who are currently living in Nitan Bet. There
are many other families like them.

R's Story
R has been a single parent since 1995. After the disengagement, she managed her own clothing business in the southern town of Sderot. Unfortunately, her business closed and she was left with significant debt (approximately $50,000) to banks, the local regional council and the tax authority. She currently lives in a caravilla in Nitzan with five members of her family including her daughter who recently divorced and her granddaughter. R is currently working and earns a salary of $1,300 per month. She seeks support to move her caravilla to her lot.

S's Story
S is sixty years old and divorced. Two of his three grown daughters live with him in Nitzan Bet, a town in the Hof Ashkelon region with a population of 2,500 residents. One of his daughters, who is 36 years old, suffers from schizophrenia and is 100% disabled. Before the disengagement, she lived in a separate unit connected to her family's home where she was supervised by a social worker and closely monitored. Since her family left Gush Katif, her situation has deteriorated- she is more agitated, angry and stressed because of their cramped living accommodations in the caravilla. Today, S spends all of his time caring for his daughter and is, therefore, unable to work. S requires assistance to move his caravilla and secure a permanent home for his family that includes a separate unit for his daughter.

You Can Make A Difference!

Relocating caravillas
Total estimated cost of relocating a caravilla: $90,000 (including infrastructure, utility connections, and security room)
Israeli Government participation $45,000
Balance to be paid by each family: $45,000

The Gush Katif Committee is seeking support for those who are unable to pay the $45,000 needed to relocate their caravilla.
All monies raised will be transferred directly to the pre-fab relocation company and not to the families.

The Bnei Menashe
The estimated cost of constructing a 60-meter rental unit is $80,000
The Gush Katif Committee would like to provide loans to 7 Bnei Menashe families for the construction of these units.

Summary of Need:

Grants to relocate caravillas $20,000*20 $400,000`
Loans to transfer caravillas $25,000*10 $250,000
Seven housing unit construction loans $80,000*7 $560,000

By supporting these 37 families, you will enable the neediest families to leave the temporary housing site and begin their new lives. These families have not only suffered the trauma of dislocation, but as they watched their neighbors begin the process of renewal, they suffered despair. They wanted to join their neighbors and take part in the rebuilding of the communities that meant so much to them in Gush Katif. But they did not have the wherewithal to do so.

Your assistance in this vital project will bring these families hope. They, too, will be able to begin again, to feel a part of a living and thriving community. They will not be left behind.