"We took the initiative to buy 1.5 tons of strawberries directly from the plantations in North Gaza and distributed them among 533 families. Each family got three kilograms of strawberries," Abdillah Onim, an Indonesian volunteer who lives in Gaza, informed ANTARA from Gaza, Monday.
Onim, who is married to a Palestinian woman, has helped the Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia in Gaza. He is now working on the establishment of the "Suara Palestina" (Palestinian Voice) news agency.
He pointed out that March was the peak season for strawberry cultivation, and the fruit was available in abundance in Gaza.
Most poor children in Gaza, however, could not afford the fruit as their families, in general, lived below the poverty line, he affirmed.
Therefore, he came up with the idea to distribute strawberries among them.
"This step was taken so that every inhabitant, including kindergarten students, could sample the sweetness of the strawberries harvested from the plantations in Gaza itself," he explained.
The fruit was distributed among the families in Bait Lahiyah, Um Naser, and Dier Balah in Central Gaza.
Onim said that happiness was apparent on the faces of the children when they received and tasted the strawberries.
Onim said the decision to buy strawberries was also aimed at helping the farmers in Gaza.
"Hopefully, similar programs could be implemented in future in order to strengthen relations between Indonesia and the Palestinian community in Gaza," Onim added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
