IsraAID

HUMANITARIAN AID ORGANIZATION

Highlights 2015/16
MISSION STATEMENT

IsraAID’s mission is to effectively support and meet the changing

needs of populations as they move from crisis to reconstruction,
rehabilitation, and eventually, to sustainable living. This commitment
is expressed in emergency relief and sustainable development, with an
emphasis on the transition between them.

WHO WE ARE FROM EMERGENCY TO

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Founded in 2001, IsraAID is an International
humanitarian aid organization based in Israel.
IMMEDIATE
Non-profit, non-governmental and Emergency Aid
apolitical, IsraAID is synonymous with rapid Medical Services
response, technical expertise, and tailor-made Trauma Prevention
programming.

The organization has responded to crises

in 39 countries around the world, reaching
millions with life-saving missions and long-
term projects.
1 - 3 MONTHS
Bringing together 1000+ professionals from Multi-sector
around the world, IsraAID subscribes to the Capacity-Building
“Do no Harm” philosophy, building high-
quality and regularly evaluated pro-
grams to ensure we never undermine local
communities.

IsraAID’s unique approach includes a

seamless transition from emergency
response to culturally-adapted capacity- 5+ YEARS
building as an instrument for locally led change Responsible Exit Strategy
that lasts.
OVERVIEW 2015/16
785,863
BENEFICIARIES WORLDWIDE

359
PROFESSIONALS DEPLOYED

19
ONGOING MISSIONS

WHAT WE DO PAST DEVELOPMENT EMERGENCY EXPENDITURE

DISASTER RELIEF
Following a crisis, time is of the essence.
Our specialized search and rescue teams
are always on stand-by, ready to save lives
and bring emergency aid to those in need
no matter where they are.
MEDICAL RESPONSE
From emergency medicine to community
services and training for governments and
NGOs, we are proud to boast a medical ros-
ter of 300+ medical professionals from all
around the world.
PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT
Preventing long-term post-trauma, and
increasing the resilience of communities
after a tragedy is a specialty of ours, led
by 500 of the world’s best mental health
professionals.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
After the initial emergency response ends,
our professionals continue working with
communities and bring economic opportu-
nities through shelter, vocational training,
agriculture, and other skills.
WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE
92% Programming
5% Management / General Costs
Drawing on world renown innovative 3% Fundraising
technology from Israel, our engineers bring
clean water, safe sanitation, and essential
professional skills to thousands around the
world.
Total Income
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE $4,447,559
Combating gender-based violence by
emaphasizing prevention and response
through treatment, training, education and
advocacy for service provision.
 After her husband and two of her
children were killed in Syria, Sabrina (name
changed) took her surviving family and
fled. Like so many others in Turkey, they
boarded an overcrowded rubber dinghy to
Europe. Unfortunately, the borders had al-
ready closed, and Sabrina and her children
were left stranded on a small Greek island.
Once a tourist destination, in 2015 Lesvos
became the center of what has been called
“Europe’s biggest crisis since World War II” as

Spotlight:
more than a million Syrians, Iraqis, and Af-
ghanis tried their luck on the rough Aegean
seas to escape war, violence, and tragedies
back home.

Europe Refugee
A year later, tens of thousands of refu-
gees remain in limbo like Sabrina – stuck
in makeshift camps throughout Greece,
terrified of being sent back and anxious to
hear of their fate. Traumatized and trapped

Crisis
in a spiral of despair, Sabrina tried to take
her own life three times. Miraculously she
survived, and recently is better.
Life is still not easy, but now she has
hope, a change she credits to the Arabic
speaking therapists sent by IsraAID as
part of its multi-country response – the
single largest campaign ever deployed by
the organization.
“After 15 years and 39 countries, the rig-
ors of disasters are nothing new for us”,
explains the Program Director, Naama
Gorodischer, “but never have we seen
something of this scale, so vast with mas-
sive humanitarian needs spread across
the entire refugee route-both in Middle
East and throughout continental Europe. ”
Since the outbreak of the war in Syria,
tens of millions from the wider region
have been affected, and IsraAID is re-
sponding on every front.
In Jordan and in Northern Iraq, provid-
Memorial Ceremony of the Yazidi Community at a Refugee Camp
ing relief items to tens of thousands of
displaced families, IsraAID is working
together with local professionals to pro-
vide quality education and trauma care.
The goal is simple: to try to minimize the
impact on what has already been dubbed
the “lost generation” of children- raised
in camps and makeshift shelters. “The
classes combat the mental and physical
stagnation”, says Hussein, an ecstatic
father in a camp near Erbil, Kurdistan
Region of Iraq, “now they are creating,
instead of destroying”.
As the numbers fleeing grew exponen-
tially, and images of 3-year-old Aylan
Kurdi’s tragic death were making head-
lines, in Greece and throughout the Bal-
kans, IsraAID’s response teams were al-
ready on the ground, providing emergency
medical care on the beaches, caring for
shell-shocked and terrified survivors of
shipwrecks, and supporting vulnerable
families on the treacherous journey to
Western Europe.
Since then, with borders closed, IsraAID is
working to promote community resiliency
and minimize the onslaught of Post-Trau-
matic Stress Disorder (PTSD) along with
depression.
“Our usual approach is a holistic one,
focusing on tackling the issues of today
in hopes of building a better tomorrow”
shares Avital Furlager, IsraAID’s Psy-
cho-Social Coordinator for Greece, “here
it’s so much more challenging - we don’t
even know where they will be in a few
weeks”.
In contrast, over 1.1 million refugees are
now adjusting to a new life in Germany.
The task there is massive – ensure over
a million people from multiple countries
integrate over a short time or risk a social
and economic crisis of unprecedented
proportions. Housed in make-shift shel-
ters throughout the country, many of the
newcomers hope for some stability and
peace. IsraAID’s professional therapists
and social workers are on the scene, train-
ing local volunteers, and creating support
groups for refugees to process the stress
of their journey.
A special emphasis is placed on the
Yazidis, a small ethno-religious group tar-
geted by ISIS for mass slaughter, forcing
them to abandon Iraq. For them, Germany
presents a special opportunity, with an
established Yazidi diaspora communi-
ty to link up with. For IsraAID, this is of
particular significance. “The Yazidis that
finally make it to Germany can reconnect
to long-lost family members and their
community, and in some way keep their
culture alive” shares Mickey Noam-Alon,
Communications Director and head of the
‘Imaging Hope’ program, “through train-
ing and visual documentation, we can
help them tell their story, record it, and
ensure that future generations remem-
ber what it means to be a Yazidi”. Some
of these young German Yazidis are being
inspired to take the story one step further,
joining IsraAID teams to help their com-
munnity both in Germany and in Greece.
“For me as a Yazidi, I have a special bond
to these people – they are my community”
explains Isa Mahmut, a German volunteer
with IsraAID in the Yazidi refugee camp of
Petra in Northern Greece, “It is an incred-
ible honor to be able to join the team and
help my people during our time of need”.
With no end to the violence in Syria
and Iraq in sight, for the many refugees
spread out all across the region the future
remains unknown. Yet, what is clear is
that no matter where or when, IsraAID will
continue its support, as they strive to help
themselves.
Our usual approach is a holistic
one, focusing on tackling the is-
sues of today in hopes of build-
ing a better tomorrow

Spotlight:
Nepal
Field Diary of Yotam Polizer,
Head of Emergency Mission to Nepal
“AID is something something
walla walla”
Just 72 hours after the earthquake
devastated Nepal, I found myself in the
capital with our Search and Rescue
team. While IsraAID doctors, nurses and
paramedics operated mobile medical
clinics, we were scrambling to save lives
amid the destruction. Our team working
around the clock to recover bodies from
under the rubble, enlisting the help of
locals and anyone physically able to lift
the cement slabs and debris.
Five days on, we continued our strenuous
efforts, though our optimism of finding
life diminished by the hour. But sudden-
ly everything came to a halt. We heard a
sound. I yelled out in Nepalese, “is any-
one there?” A dim voice, barely audible
answered. There was a woman alive
under the wreckage. For the next
five hours we worked with groups of
local authorities and 130 internation-
al Search and Rescue workers to save
a life. As we fought against the clock, a
constant flow of people brought food,
snacks and water — an overwhelm-
ing outpouring of support. People
who had just lost everything and now
living on the streets came togeth-
er with so much love – inspiring us
to push on. As the treacherous work
continued, we thought we could hear
the faint sound of breathing. I called out
again and heard a woman’s voice cry back:
“Dukh chha” – “It hurts.” At that moment,
I realized; clearly, miracles do happen.
I began to reassure the woman that she
was going to be rescued but asked her to
try and stay calm and very still. We had
cleared a deep path in the wreckage to
reach her, but with one wrong move the
fragile layers above could collapse on us
all.
We finally got a glimpse of the young
woman and called for a medic to insert
an IV into her arm to rehydrate. I waited a
few minutes and then asked for her name.
“Krishna,” she told me. We learned that
Krishna Devi Khadka, 24, was working at
a local guesthouse when the earthquake
struck.
As our team prepared for the final stage of
the rescue operation, we coordinated and
counted down simultaneously in Hebrew,
Nepalese and English until we finally
could pull her out to freedom and safety.
After being rescued, Krishna was brought
to the Israeli field hospital, where her
condition stabilized, and then transferred
to the Nepali Army Hospital. I closely
followed her recovery over the next two
months. When I learned she had left her
two children in her home village and came
to work in Kathmandu in order to support
her family, I rushed to bring them to her.
At IsraAID we are all too familiar with the
effects of trauma and I understood how
important it was to have her children with
her.
To me, the needs of Krishna’s children
represented those of every child affected
by the earthquake. Beyond the direct suf-
fering and miraculous rescue of Krishna,
the family’s challenges were many, and
complex.
Everyone appreciates the physi-
cal sides of recovery from disas-
ter, but too often the emotion-
al and psychological needs are
underestimated or forgotten
This helped inform our programming. We
started with the most urgent – shelter,
launching our “A Roof for All” program
to provide 660 semi-permanent houses
to families in five districts. Then, we fo-
cused on promoting education through
our “Back to School” program, providing
4,000 children with backpacks, note-
books and pencils.
Everyone appreciates the physical sides
of recovery from disaster, but too often
the emotional and psychological needs
are underestimated or forgotten. It was
evident from the moment I met Krishna
that the Nepali people were resilient. But
with every visit I had with Krishna and her
children, I understood the ever-present
need for psychosocial support.
This kind of assistance was highly stig-
matized prior to the earthquake, but the
psychosocial needs of so many forced it
into the foreground. IsraAID takes a com-
prehensive and non-traditional approach
to overcome stigma. Realizing that Ne-
palis love theatre, we dispatched theatre
troupes to affected communities to raise
HoneyAID (Cooperative)
The earthquake crippled the econo-
my of Nepal which already had high
incidences of poverty and food in-
security. To strengthen resilience
of individuals and communities, Is-
raAID sought to provide livelihoods
skills, targeting women in affect-
ed villages. The project is training
500 women from rural earthquake
affected villages. The training fo-
cuses on beekeeping, harvesting,
and marketing. The project’s main
objective is to empower women
by providing them with basic live-
lihood skills through beekeeping.
By the end of 2015, the project had
trained 64 women from the rural
communities in Kavre district.
HoneyAID Livelyhood Program
awareness. At the same time, we began to city. HoneyAID has grown to be a huge
train local professionals across many dif- success and is on target with our goals
ferent sectors so they could begin to form of training 500 women/households in
their own response framework. income generation and entrepreneurial
Krishna, like so many others, was left skills, as well as women’s empowerment.
jobless by the quake. Regardless of emo- It still never ceases to amaze me that
tional stability and schoolbooks, she and while within minutes one’s entire world
her children needed to be able to eat. This can collapse and everything can seem
lack of income sources in the village was lost forever, the sparks of courage and
what drove her to leave her village in the the spirit of camaraderie still manage to
first place. break through. Representing different
Drawing on Israeli expertise, IsraAID countries, from places near and far, these
began ‘HoneyAID’-training women-led incredible moments of unity result both in
households in remote villages on how lives saved, and in many more, like mine,
to tend to bees, gather honey, and mar- forever inspired.
ket the finished product together in the
Spotlight:
South Sudan

As South Sudan struggles with a new

round of hostilities and chaos, IsraAID
expands its critical work on the ground. The
renewed conflict and displacement have
dramatically increased the vulnerabilities
and violence against innocent civilians,
particularly among women and girls.
IsraAID has been operating in South Sudan
since the country gained independence
in 2011. Even prior to the outbreak of the
recent conflict, Gender-Based Violence
(GBV) was a serious, life threatening,
pervasive and under-resourced challenge.
The recent outbreak of violence significant-
ly exacerbated the risks and occurrence
of GBV. Women and girls are deliberately
targeted, rape is used as a weapon of war,
and domestic violence has significantly
increased due to trauma, displacement and
violence.
Thus, IsraAID’s work focuses on estab-
lishing life-saving protection, medical
and psychosocial services for GBV
survivors and their communities, and a
safer environment for all.
IsraAID began a long-term program to
train and accompany local service provid-
ers in their efforts to design and deliver
comprehensive services of quality to
vulnerable communities affected by
conflict and displacement.
Judith Denya Bullen first met IsraAID
during an introductory training session on
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) conduct-
ed by IsraAID in 2012 for social workers
employed by the State Ministry of Gender
and Social Development of Central Equa-
toria State.
For Judith, the training was her first
exposure to professional material on the
subject of GBV. From the very beginning,
she showed great interest, professional-
ism, and commitment, and continued to
participate in the courses developed by
IsraAID together with the Ministry.
When the 2013 civil war broke out, and
with it unspeakable atrocities committed
against civilians, Judith was selected –
together with other colleagues from the
Ministry, to play a central role in provid-
ing psychosocial and case management
services to communities affected by the
conflict, subsequent displacement and
resulting trauma.
She excelled at her job, gaining tremen-
dous trust in the communities by applying
the very skills and tools acquired through
IsraAID’s training courses. The Ministry
rewarded her dedication, and she was
appointed as the first official Case
Manager of the Ministry. Her commit-
ment paid off, and thanks to her and her
peers, countless cases of GBV received
a response, and so many more were
prevented.
She is now leading the IsraAID’s
UNICEF-funded protection program
in Juba, reaching in 2015 more than
2,000 community members and train-
ing 183 service providers in the process.
She developed strong and lasting ties
between the police, psychosocial and
medical services – providing a solid refer-
ral framework for GBV survivors and other
vulnerable groups.
Her work has been commended by the
communities themselves, other service
providers, international and national
partners and, of course, IsraAID.
We are proud to work with Judith, and she
is one successful example, among many
others, of the importance of strength-
ening the capacity of national service
providers to ensure long term
sustainability.
There is need to establish
life-saving protection, medi-
cal and psychosocial services
for GBV survivors and their
communities
Ms. Judith Denya Bullen
 IsraAID Global HQ

GET INVOLVED
Address:
Beit Ha’tfotzot Building, Floor -1, Office 711
Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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DONATE
All of IsraAID’s work worldwide is
made possible through the gener-
ous support of thousands of private
individuals, foundations, institutions
and companies.
We thank you for your consideration,
and always strive to ensure maximum
impact with each donation.
Tax deductible giving is also
possible in the UK and Canada.
For more information please visit:
www.israaid.org/donate
GLOBAL HQ - ISRAEL
IsraAID’s global headquarters are locat-
ed in Israel. The organization is registered
with the amuta/org number 580472959.
The main methods of donation are:
Credit Card:
Tax deductible donations are possible only
through the platform IsraelGives or support
us directly on PayPal ($USD) or in New Israeli
Shekels.
Wire Transfer:
Account Holder: IsraAID - The Forum for
International Humanitarian Aid.
Address of Account Holder: Address: PO Box
39157, 6139101 Tel Aviv, ISRAEL
Account Number: 435937
Bank: Bank Ha Poalim LTD
Bank Address: 105 Alozorov St. Tel Aviv
Swift Code: POALILIT
IBAN: IL73-0126-0800-0000-0435937
Check:
Make check out to IsraAID- The Israel Forum for
International Humanitarian Aid Address:
PO Box 39157, 6139101 Tel Aviv, ISRAEL
USA
Receiving a tax-deduction within the US is
possible through our 501c3 registered
non-profit (EIN:46-2118225).
Credit Card/Online:
Temporarily, donating via credit card is only
available through IsraelGives or directly to our
top projects on the GlobalGiving.com platform.
Wire Transfer:
ABA 026009593 (International Banks can Use
SWIFT-BIC: BOFAUS3N)
Bank of America, N.A.
100 West 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001
a/c 6550113516
Name: Merrill Lynch
For final credit to account # 7WD-02854,
IsraAID (US) Global Humanitarian Assistance,
Inc.
Check:
Please make check payable to IsraAID (US)
Global Humanitarian Assistance, Inc.
IsraAID USA
c/o Sheldon J. Weisel
General Counsel
SB-Urban, LCC
7700 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 700
Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
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