JumpStart International has started cleaning, clearing and improving the downtown area of Beit Lahiya, a city in the northern Gaza Strip.

The organization will initially clear the streets and sidewalks from debris in order to make them passable. Later, we plan to assist with repairing the adjacent walls and sidewalks and then to proceed with the cleaning of the city’s main street that links Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya with Beit Lahiya.

The road and sidewalks are covered with sand after heavy shelling.

JumpStart has begun its first day of work with two foremen and 36 workers, who were selected from the needy and homeless. The workers will be hired for a 30-day period and then new ones will be selected. The daily wage for workers stands at $10, while foremen receive $14 per day.

A crew of JumpStart's workers cleans the streets.

The local municipality has provided JumpStart with two trucks and one uploader tractor at no cost while JumpStart secures the fuel to operate them.

One of our trucks. Large chunks of concrete have been already collected.

The Volvo truck and the uploader are getting ready to pick up large pieces.

In the first week alone, JumpStart provided 216 job opportunity days to local workers, while the purchase of materials and equipment combined with administrative expenses have injected several thousand dollars into the local economy.

The high visibility of JumpStart's work has increased people’s interest in working on these projects.

At a time when Gaza’s economic situation, according to major news sources, is sharply deteriorating, employment generation is in high demand. With this project, JumpStart aims to employ as many workers as possible over a 40-day period.

Because the city is located close to the northern border, it is considered a dangerous location. Most NGOs have been avoiding Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun; therefore, having an American NGO working in Beit Lahiya is a big event and news to all.