American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera)

Today, agriculture is one of the few ways for Palestinians to make a living in an uncertain political and economic climate. But, the shortage of water in the region and decades of outdated cultivation techniques challenge today’s farmers. Anera works in rural communities on a small-scale and sustainable level. We install irrigation systems and build farm-to-market roads, wholesale markets and greenhouses. We support farming cooperatives that share resources and help farmers talk to each other about what works.

Your support is helping revive Gaza agriculture by leveling and plowing damaged fields, installing irrigation pipes and providing olive trees and vegetable saplings to hundreds of families affected by the war and poverty. In the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon, your donations have fund greening efforts that bring a little cheer to concrete-filled neighborhoods. In the West Bank, you've helped set up the first large-scale facility in Palestine that treats waste water for irrigating farmlands.

Education has the power to transform lives, building the foundation for a brighter future. But poverty and conflict can make it difficult to access quality education in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

ith your help, Anera is giving people in the Middle East access to learning opportunities from preschool through college. Innovative and flexible projects in early childhood education, non-formal basic education, school infrastructure, information technology, after-school programming and vocational education are helping people of all ages discover their potential.

In times of crisis, Anera's staff on the ground delivers medicines, food, water and more.

When schools, hospitals and farms are damaged by bombs or natural disasters, Anera rebuilds and restores them. We also help families rebuild their livelihoods—another casualty of conflict and crisis—through small business loans, job creation and job skills training.

2020 brought unimaginable challenges to Palestine and Lebanon. Anera had to pivot its work not once, not twice, but three times. From “normal” political and economic challenges to revolution and economic collapse, then to COVID-19, and, most recently, to the terrible explosion that rocked Beirut. Since March, students from Anera’s UNICEF-funded sewing courses have been earning an income making face masks for frontline workers, residents of camps and other vulnerable communities, and schools.

Good health is a critical foundation of any society. But in poor communities in Palestine and Lebanon, families have trouble accessing quality health care.

Crumbling buildings, outdated equipment and a shortage of doctors and medicines diminish the standard of care that hospitals and clinics can provide. And restrictions on movement cause patients to rely on small, local clinics with the fewest resources.

Thanks to supporters from all over the world, Anera is able to rebuild, upgrade and improve conditions in hospitals and clinics in Palestine and Lebanon. We distribute millions of dollars worth of vital medicines, equipment, wheelchairs, over-the-counter drugs and health care supplies that would not otherwise be available in the communities where they are needed the most.