Rooftop Gardens in Palestine 

Afaf is a 37-year-old mother of eight children living inside Dheisheh Refugee Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp located just south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.

When Afaf’s husband took ill, he could no longer work to support their family, and Afaf feared for their lives because she was unable to feed her eight hungry children alone.

With no money and no way of earning a living, Afaf’s family struggled to survive. Then Afaf got involved in Penny Appeal’s Rooftop Gardens, and her fortunes changed.

Rooftop Gardens is a new kind of social project where women are trained in gardening and horticulture and then provided with everything they need to grow their own crops.

Through the Rooftop Gardens project, Afaf now has a greenhouse built on the roof of her house. In four short months she has succeeded in feeding her family and selling more than 45kg of healthy organic vegetables to surrounding families.

Afaf said: “I actually don’t know what would have happened to my family without the generous support of Penny Appeal.”

Afaf said, crying: “Thanks God, and thank you Penny Appeal for your support.”