Atta Services: Aid to the Aged – Jerusalem

Project Title: Emergency Relief

Atta Services seeks to address issues affecting elderly Palestinians, including their mental and physical health as well as social well-being. Atta Services' Meals on Wheels Program, for example, provides hot meals to the aged in the Ramallah area at least three times a week. This program is an integral part of Atta's outreach program, which also facilitates doctor visits, house cleaning, and visits by Atta Services' staff.

In the midst of the harsh Israeli occupation regime, Atta proposed an emergency relief program to alleviate the critical conditions that Palestinians have had to face. Re-starting its Outreach Community Services after the invasion of the Israeli army into the already occupied West Bank, Atta focused on a triad of activities: (1) medical and psychological support; (2) food and sanitation; (3) home repairs and care.

The “Medical and Psychological Support” activities were aimed at elderly beneficiaries of their outreach programs that were in need of consultation and medication. A part of these beneficiaries require constant medical supervision. In the wake of the invasions of Bethlehem and Ramallah, Atta Services states that “almost all of our elderly beneficiaries are in need of counseling and psychological assistance.”

Besides the Meals on Wheels program, Atta attempts to deliver staple foodstuffs – consisting of mainly powdered milk and other canned goods – to at least 300 beneficiaries on a monthly basis. They are not always successful in their attempts in delivery the aid due to Israeli checkpoints, closures, and curfews.

Finally, the emergency relief project entails the basic repair of homes damaged by the Israeli invasion of the West Bank. Atta states: “many houses were looted. Doors and furniture were damaged and destroyed.” Atta’s staff and volunteers have helped over 100 elderly Palestinians repair damaged homes, run chores, and to clean-up ransacked houses.