Ruba’s son stands near the sheep his family purchased with Family-Self-Support funds from CAM.
Ruba’s son stands near the sheep his family purchased with Family-Self-Support funds from CAM.

Helping Middle Eastern Families Support Themselves

The family of Samir Awad* is living a barebones existence in the Gaza Strip. The door and window openings of their house aren’t covered, and they don’t have much protection from the cold and wind. When our staff recently visited this family, they were burning egg cartons to heat food. Even necessities like cooking fuel were not affordable for the family.

With Family-Self-Support funds, Samir was able to purchase a tuk-tuk. A tuk-tuk is a three-wheeled motorized vehicle frequently used in the Middle East for transportation and hauling. Now Samir can cart people around and haul their cargo for an income. This is a tremendous blessing in helping him provide for his nine children.

Nearby, in the West Bank, the Ruba Dawood family was also in need of a better income. We provided them with four sheep, helping to increase their meager income. All the ewes will soon lamb, and the milk and milk products will help meet the needs of the family. Ruba has a good vision for this project.

A CAM staff member in Israel wrote, “I was struck by Ruba’s peaceful, unassuming attitude toward life even though he doesn’t have it very easy. He also seemed to have a good relationship with his sons.”

*Names in this article have been changed to protect identities.