PROJECT TITLE : Provision of hot meals to IDPs and returnees in northern Rafah

Concept Note
Project Information
Project Titel. Provision of hot meals to IDPs and returnees in northern Rafah
Thematic sector and focus
(which thematic priority area(s) does the project fit into? Check the boxes)

Humanitarian
Food Aid NFIs Shelter Protection
Education Health WASH Disaster Preparedness
Other (Please specify) ________

Development
Education Food Security Health Livelihoods/Income Generation WASH Women Empowerment Other (Please specify) ________
Project ModalitySeasonal project, Hot Iftar Meals (Ramadan 2025), In-kind distribution
Project location

Northern Rafah (Khirbet Al Adas, Al Junaina and Az Zuhoor neighbourhoods), Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.
Project duration
(including proposed start and end dates)Duration in months: 4 Months, From 05/03/2025 To 05/07/2025.
Project summary
(250 words)

In the first time in its history, the Gaza Strip has faced an unprecedented level of annihilation after October, 2023 that claimed lives, property and infrastructure, along with most of their rights under the International Human Rights Law and the International Humanitarian Law. Such devastating losses have unfolded more clearly as a result of the ceasefire which took place January 19th, 2025 after the assessment of various entities, including the Food Security Sector, the acute food insecurity suffered by the entire population of the Gaza Strip. Nonetheless, people are trying their best to settle, especially the northern parts of the city of Rafah which began witnessing the return of its inhabitants; around 45000 people returned to their homes, or whatever is left of it, after almost a year of displacement, hoping that they will no longer need to leave their possessions and property and run for their lives.

To enhance the resilience of those returnees, and in effort to help them once again connect with the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan, YEC, through a generous donation from charity exellence plans to conduct a project that aims to provide IDPs and returnees with most of their caloric need during the month of Ramadan in the form of hot meals. Those hot meals come at a time when most people lost their homes and may lack the means to cook for themselves due to living in harsh conditions. This project also serves as a great opportunity for practicing Muslims who wish to do Kaffara or Fedia for certain sins which needs to be absolved through feeding those in need.

Prior experience

The project will be implemented by YEC, building on its previous experience in implementing similar projects.

Total cost of the project 297,437.50 USD (including overhead 10%)


Beneficiaries The project will target a total of 400 HH per day. The project is mainly dedicated to providing hot meals to IDPs residing in sites, formal and informal, as a result to losing their homes as a result to the recent war. A target site will be defined in cooperation with the food security sector and the site management/CCCM Cluster.

Situation/Humanitarian analysis

According to media outlets, and testimonials from people inside the Gaza Strip, the aftermath of October the 7th, 2023 surpassed many atrocities that been committed against the people of the Gaza Strip; the Israeli Authorities response to the insurgence of Palestinian militant groups into Israel and the kidnapping of around 200 civilians and military personnel came in the form of a vicious war that claimed the lives of 50,000 people, of which one third is children and most of the victims are civilians according to numerous sources, including UN agencies. What deepened the crisis is the fact that prior to the war, the Gaza Strip was suffering from numerous challenges hitting all sectors and clusters of the humanitarian work, including but not limited to food security, especially that the Israeli government keeps taps on all aid and commercial items coming into the Gaza Strip and they are the ones who hold the authority to close the crossings shut and force people into famine; a measure that was practiced against the people of Gaza and north Gaza who had, at some point, to consume animal feed at the absence of flour and other food items.

Aside from the aforementioned, the fact that this war lasted for over 500 days, including the ceasefire, means that those who lost their jobs and livelihoods were forced to abstract their bank accounts, in most times in exchange of a hefty commission, and now have no steady sources of income, that if it existed to begin with. Being said, the majority of the people of the Gaza Strip rely largely on aid, hence the necessity of this project.

ObjectivesThe overall objective of this project is to contribute towards mitigating food insecurity, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
The specific objective of this project is to enhance the resilience of the IDPs and returnees of Northern Rafah through the provision of hot meals, especially during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Ways of work

1. Coordinate with the FSS and SMC to define the sites in need for intervention.
2. Coordinate with site/neighbourhood representatives and focal points.
3. Procure the services of a community kitchen.
4. Define a set of meals to be cooked in consultation with the target communities and in accordance with the diet of the people of the Gaza Strip.
5. Prepare the raw materials and store dry items sufficient for 1 to 3 months based on the materials and storage availability. Perishable items, such as frozen meats, will be provided at the day of cooking due to the lack of reliable cold storage facilities.
6. Cook the meals and transport the pots to the target areas in coordination with community representatives.
7. Conduct PDM through defining a random sample at 90% confidence rate.
8. Reporting and closing up.

Logical framework Annex
Expected impact

The project is expected to contribute significantly to:

• Provide a source of nutrition to poor and needy families to help them withstand the effort made due to fasting throughout the holy month of Ramadan.
• Mitigate negative coping mechanisms and help the families sense the joy and blessings of Ramadan.

Implementation plan (attachment excel sheet)Attached


Gender Considerations:YEC adheres to protection principles and good practices as guided by the humanitarian standards (CHS, SPHERE, etc.) with special focus on accountability to beneficiaries, applying complaint systems, access to assistance with dignity and gender equality. Also, YEC is committed to professional ethics and non-violence of human rights and dignity in all its programs and activities. All activities are carried out with full objectivity and professional responsibility regardless of any political, religious or ethical orientations.

The YEC is also committed to preserve the privacy and confidentiality of beneficiaries’ information in any activity or project. YEC is firmly committed to the protection of all children from any form of abuse, particularly sexual, physical and emotional abuse, to give them the right to participate in decisions taking as well as to retain their right to appeal in case of abuse or exploitation. The YEC also provides the appropriate environment for children in all its programs as it believes that they are all have the right to live in dignity.


Risk analysis and mitigation

#Risk EventRisk CategoryImpact / Response StrategyRisk Controls (Detail of Risk Response Strategy
Ceasefire is no longer in effectPoliticalHigh/
Suspend and reportSafety of all will be top priority and the security situation will be closely monitored and changes made as necessary to keep everyone safe.

Losses due to fluctuations of exchange rate (USD to ILS)FinancialMild / Mitigate-Some changes in +/-number of beneficiaries may take place after approval from Donor.

Late receipt of paymentsFinancialModerate / MitigateFinancial amounts due are delivered upon receipt of the payment.
Natural disasters, accidents or spread of pandemic endanger lives of people & halt the project operations.SecurityHigh / Mitigate-

Cooperate with the concerned authorities to increase access to prevention and care information and services.
- Develop and implement a work continuity plan, and reschedule non-critical activities.
- Monitor the situation closely.

Lack of the entry of food items via crossing pointsPoliticalHigh/
mitigateSuspend all works until food items are sourced with reasonable prices.
Monitoring and evaluation


YEC will involve the beneficiaries on monitoring and evaluation through the following:

1. During implementation, direct and indirect beneficiaries will be used to determine the extent of the project's success in achieving its objectives and the suitability of the outputs to the needs of the beneficiaries.
2. To assessing the impact of activities on the beneficiaries and identifying problems during implementation, we will follow the following:

• Obtaining feedback from the participants in the project's interventions to evaluate the activities and take the beneficiaries' recommendations to improve and develop activities.
• Pre and post evaluations: when possible, the work team will fill out pre- and post-questionnaires to measure the impact of different interventions on beneficiaries.
• Allowing the beneficiary families to communicate directly with the project coordinator to make suggestions and present problems, if any.
• Writing success stories, lessons learned and case studies for targeted families.

Monitoring and follow up through the following:

• Monitoring Project Costs.
• Project team follow-up: This follow-up aims to verify the achievements and effectiveness of the employees and adjust them in the right direction, and this comes through monitoring the extent of their commitment to the implementation of the project plan and the work plan, preparing them for the required reports, and holding work meetings continuously to discuss the course of the project, exchange information about it, and follow up the implement of the remaining activities, the extent of their commitment to their tasks and roles, and their harmony as a working team in the conduct of project procedures and decision-making.

Among the tools that YEC uses in monitoring the progress and implementation of the project's tasks and activities are the following:

• Supervising the project staff and holding meetings periodically in order to follow up the project implementation and work plan according to the schedule prepared in advance.
• Communication plan: Prepared to manage communication with project stakeholders and includes case study reports, scheduled meetings, supplier meetings, and activities launch schedules.
• Documentation: The various activities of the project will be documented with pictures and videos through specialized media.
• Reports: We will provide all necessary reports documenting the phases and activities of the project
• Records of project activities: by reviewing everything related to the project from records documenting the activities of the project.