Evaluation of the AID-funded PVO development assistance program in the West Bank and Gaza : Catholic Relief Services (CRS) rural development program evaluation report, September 1984

Special evaluation covers the period 8/75-9/84 and is based on site visits. With the first project completed and the second underway, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has completed 82 of 96 village subprojects, promoting the self-help construction of interior and access roads, public buildings such as schools, clinics, and community centers, and water and electricity systems. Almost 200,000 villagers have benefitted, including about one fourth of the rural population in the West Bank, where most of the activities are located. The subprojects have proved cost-effective and responsive to villagers' needs. It is recommended that CRS: continue these types of activities, and expand them in Gaza, where the need is greatest; establish a full office in Gaza governing rural development and related CRS projects in health education and for the handicapped; and revise its development strategy to acknowledge worsened economic conditions by including non-construction activities.