Indonesian volunteers decided to spend part of the money donated by the country's people on buying 1.5 tons of strawberries from farms in Gaza and distributed them to children. Abdillah Onim, an Indonesian volunteer who lives in Gaza, explained that while plenty of strawberries are grown there, most children cannot afford to eat them as their families, in general, live below the poverty line.
"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," said Onim.
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, so 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.
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.
Source: antaranews.com
