This is my 31st portrait of a Palestinian refugee child as part of my ongoing effort, The Innocents Project, to raise awareness (and donations) for the great work that ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) does to help the people of Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan. They truly are the nicest people and they do a lot with a little as funding has been cut to Palestine from the United States and elsewhere.
One of the many ways that ANERA helps refugees is to improve water conditions. 90% of the water in Gaza is unfit for people to drink because of raw sewage and rising seawater. ANERA'S current water project will give 50,000 people better access to clean water. Nearly 10% of Palestinian communities in the West Bank have no access to potable water.
ANERA's water priorities include irrigation for farmers' crops by using treated wastewater; providing access to clean water for drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning, which is limited by the occupation and blockade; and to help solve the sewage crisis in the West Bank and Gaza, where the threat to the health of families is exacerbated by overflowing septic tanks.
ANERA also educates families in proper sanitation and hygiene practices to prevent waterborn illnesses. There are so many other ways that ANERA helps these unfortunate people, and you can read more on www.anera.org I know you will be impressed with the work that they do and will be so moved to make a donation, big or small.
I would also encourage you to watch this beautiful video of Sean Carroll, ANERA's President,
at https://www.anera.org/blog/whats-your-vision/
Just a little about the painting: It was so difficult because I used oil paints, and I normally paint with acrylics. The hands were a challenge and I know they have a long way to go to be perfect, but any artist will tell you that hands are not easy to paint.
https://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/diane-campion/920-basic-needs/738905
