Each worker receives a stipend of 1,000 shekels a month (about $462 CAD), an amount that roughly covers a week’s worth of groceries, providing a modest but vital source of cash in a war‑scarred economy.

The programme currently involves about 113 women and 20 men; it is renewed each year and the finished products are distributed free of charge to families and schools.

Unemployment in the enclave remains staggering—around 78 % overall and more than 90 % among the working‑age population, according to UN Trade and Development—making any paid activity especially significant.

For many, the job restores a sense of purpose. “I really wanted to have a job; I really wanted to have money to spend because my husband is sick,” said 38‑year‑old Warda Aliwa to videographer Mohamed El Saife.

Aliwa added that the empty flour sacks, originally sent as humanitarian aid, are cut and sewn into tote bags that can then hold food for her family.

Nisreen Abbas, 54, who cares for twelve grandchildren and an 87‑year‑old husband in a wheelchair, explained, “Thank God, I can stand on my own two feet. I bring food for my grandchildren; I bring medicine for my husband.”

Khaled al‑Kurd, 50, lost his wife, daughter, home and sewing business in the conflict. He described the work as a small but essential resource that helps him regain a fragment of normal life.

Project coordinator Faten Abu Sharkh noted that the cash‑for‑work initiative not only supplies free items to those in need, but also offers participants financial, social and mental support, easing depression for many.

Although the positions are temporary, the steady income and the dignity of productive work have been reported to lift spirits and reduce anxiety among Gaza’s residents.