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 vulnerable children whose lives have been upended by the crisis.
Marah and Karim’s family once lived peacefully in Gaza’s Al-Zaytoun neighbourhood. Life was stable, the children went to school regularly, and their parents provided them with love and care.
Marah, 8, attended Hamad hospital for treatment for mobility issues affecting her left arm and leg, and a regime of physical therapy helped her to manage.
But this routine was shattered when the family’s home was bombed, killing the children’s father and 2 of their siblings. The rest of the family survived, pulled from beneath the rubble after seeing their loved ones pass away before their eyes.
“I was happy at school, and my whole life was happy. When the war came, we were not happy anymore, and my dad was killed. He used to bring us toys. Whatever I asked for, he provided it for us,” Marah says.
Now living in a tent, the family are carefully rationing water to cope with its scarcity. To have enough water to cook, they sometimes can’t wash, which has left the children suffering from painful rashes.
“Life is non-existent. The basic elements of life in Gaza are all gone. We don’t eat proper food, drink proper water, wear proper clothes, or sleep properly. Our life is exhaustion,” Marah’s mother says.
“No school for our children, no kindergarten, no university for our students, no jobs for our sons. What is there now? Destruction. Everywhere you go, it’s just destruction.”
Marah’s brother Karim, 13, has asthma, which has worsened from a lack of medicine and smoke from the wood fires most families are forced to cook over.
Marah’s health is also declining. Despite her mother’s determination to walk long distances to take her to physiotherapy, the clinic lacks proper equipment. Marah often comes back in tears, too exhausted to play, sitting silently in the tent while other children run around.
Education, once their path to a brighter future, has also been derailed. With schools destroyed and the education system fractured, the circumstances have made studying an uphill battle.
Still, Marah and Karim continue to hold on to hope. Marah dreams of becoming a doctor and Karim hopes to 1 day be a maths teacher.
“I loved mathematics. I studied hard and would answer a lot in class,” he says.
Thanks to our generous donors, Islamic Relief is supporting thousands of orphaned children, like Marah and Karim, in Gaza, but over 7,000 children are still waiting to be sponsored. Be a lifeline for Gaza’s orphans. Please donate today – Palestinian children need your help now.
