VZCZCXYZ0023
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #4905 3401349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061349Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5952
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 7177
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 2351

UNCLAS JERUSALEM 004905 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR PRM/ANE AND NEA/IPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM KWBG
SUBJECT: AL-MAGHAZI REFUGEE CAMP:  WOMEN BENEFIT FROM USG 
FUNDED SEWING FACTORY 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 02199 
     ¶B. STATE 106178 
 
¶1.   SUMMARY:  ConGen PD Specialist traveled to the 
al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza on November 28 to visit a 
sewing factory run by the Palestinian NGO, Palestine Save the 
Children Foundation (PSCF), and to monitor the project funded 
by a USG grant.  He met with Ali Mansour, the Director of 
PSCF, and women who are participating in the factories' 
training and employment programs, and he toured the 
facilities.  In 2006, Post requested funding under the 
Ambassador's Fund for Refugees program to educate Palestinian 
women residing in the refugee camp on sewing skills and 
management training for small-scale enterprises.  The 
al-Maghazi refugee camp has a population of approximately 
22,000 refugees, who suffer the effects of several years of 
violence and economic upheaval.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Visit to the Factory 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  ConGen PD specialist traveled to the Gaza al-Maghazi 
refugee camp on November 28 to visit a sewing factory run by 
the Palestine Save the Children Foundation that was funded by 
a USD 20,000 grant from PRM under the Ambassador's Fund.  PD 
specialist toured the facilities and met with Ali Mansour, 
the director of PSCF, and with several of the women 
participating in the program.  Mansour said that the women 
will receive training on sewing skills and management 
training for small-scale enterprises before they begin 
working in the factory.  Several of the women expressed their 
satisfaction with the project, noting that they were happy 
they would be able to earn some additional money for their 
families, "especially in this difficult situation."  (NOTE: 
Digital pictures emailed electronically to PRM/ANE.  END 
NOTE.) 
 
Project Background 
------------------ 
 
¶3.  The PRCS sewing factory project is an informal education 
and income generating project for women residing in the 
al-Maghazi refugee camp.  PSCF believes that the project will 
increase the number of women wage-earners providing support 
for needy Palestinian families facing immediate financial 
problems.  The al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the Gaza 
Strip, a region with extremely high levels of unemployment 
and poverty. 
 
Monitoring 
---------- 
 
¶4.  Due to USG restrictions on travel to Gaza by American 
staff, ConGen oversight of the al-Maghazi camp project is 
conducted by a local employee of the PD section who resides 
in Gaza. 
 
WALLES