Israel’s assault on Gaza has orphaned tens of thousands of Palestinian children since October 2023. Our Orphan Sponsorship Programme is a lifeline for many of these grieving children, who are struggling to survive.
Many children have lost 1 or both parents, leaving them facing danger, hunger and uncertainty, without the support of their parents. It is estimated that more than 39,000 children in Gaza have been orphaned since the onslaught began.
Islamic Relief has launched a new campaign to secure sponsorship for the more than 7,300 children on our waitlist. The campaign allows donors to support orphaned children in Gaza through 3 methods:
- multiple child sponsorship
- a general fund
Here, we explain more about how multiple child sponsorship works.
How is Islamic Relief supporting orphans in Gaza?
Islamic Relief has been supporting orphaned children in Gaza since 1999 through our Orphan Sponsorship Programme which massively expanded since the current crisis began to meet the desperate needs on the ground.
Before October 2023, we were sponsoring 7,200 children in need in Gaza – that number has now risen to more than 21,000.
What is multiple child sponsorship?
The ongoing bombardment of Gaza has tragically often orphaned multiple children within the same family. Many of our donors have expressed their kind wish to sponsor more than one child from the same family, which we have now made possible.
Multiple child sponsorship allows donors to do more to alleviate the suffering of one family by supporting up to 3 children.
As with one-to-one sponsorship, families receive a monthly stipend for each sponsored child, with the flexibility to use funds to buy what they most need, when available.
How does multiple child sponsorship work?
Multiple child sponsorship fundamentally operates in the same way one-to-one sponsorship does.
Donors are matched with orphaned children from the same family who are in need of support. The family then receives the donation in the form of a monthly stipend.
We use electronic cash transfers to put money directly into the accounts of families, making funds available to allow them to circumvent the cash crisis. Prior to the current crisis, the stipends were limited to covering health and education expenses, but we now give the money on an unconditional basis, meaning families can use it to buy what they most need when it is available.
Through the payment system, families are notified that payments have been made to their e-Wallets, which they are able to use to withdraw money from functioning supermarkets
The system allows Islamic Relief to see which families have redeemed their codes, and has become a helpful tool in checking in on the welfare of families enrolled in the programme.
We provide donors with regular updates on the children and families they sponsor, but due to the situation on the ground we often experience delays in gathering this information and sharing it with donors.
How many orphans in Gaza need sponsors?
More than 7,300 orphaned children are in our system, waiting to be matched with sponsors.
Our staff are working tirelessly to identify and register children in need of sponsorship. Unfortunately, many of these children in need are from the same families.
Without a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s blockade however, the number of orphans in Gaza and the number of families ripped apart will continue to rise.
With your continued support however, Islamic Relief will continue to be a lifeline for orphan children in Gaza and Palestine. The situation may feel hopeless, but, with your help, Islamic Relief can reach more families in desperate need. Be a lifeline to Gaza’s orphans. Palestinian children need you now.
