Zina’s story

War Child and our partners offer Zina moments of relief. Through psychosocial support, games, and activities in child-friendly spaces, she is able to smile, play, and briefly escape the horrors of war.

Zina shares, “I get scared of bombings. Many things scare me… I get scared when I dream.”

“I wish I could walk in a city where there is no war, I am afraid there might be another war and we would have to be displaced from one tent to another. That we might have to carry our belongings and throw them away.”

Speaking about her father’s injury, Zina says, “His leg hurts now, so I help him… Before his injury we used to go play and have fun together. That's all over nowadays, we don't go anywhere anymore.”

Her daily life has changed drastically: One of her tasks is collecting water. “When the ‘water man’ comes, my brother and I go… Sometimes there are so many people around him that we wait until the very end to get water. It is difficult. My clothes get so wet when I go get water, I have to change them when I return.”

“Then I go play outside, but I get bored. Then I go inside the tent and stay there.”

After repeated displacement and widespread destruction, Zina longs for stability: “I wish I could wake up to find myself in a home, not a tent.”

“My room, my toys, they are all gone… I wish I could play in my room and sleep on my bed.”

With schools damaged or destroyed, her education has been disrupted. “I go to school every other day. I wish I could go every day. But there aren't any chairs, or desks, there is nothing there to sit on. We write on the floor... I wish I had a real school building to go to every day. For me, there's nothing better than learning.”

Despite everything, Zina finds joy through War Child activities, spaces where she can play, express herself and feel like a child again.

Zina’s mother, Muna, fears for her children’s future: “Education nowadays is reduced. They are not learning as much as students used to learn at school.” One of her children has missed two full years of schooling.

“I have kids who are older than Zina, who received their education at school, and I can tell that they are on a completely different level compared to Zina.”

She hopes for better opportunities: “We hope that when our children finally leave the tent, their next school will not be another tent. We hope it is an actual building with actual classrooms.”

The psychological toll on children like Zina is immense, and Muna highlights the importance of mental health care: “We hope that psychological support is intensified. An hour a day of support isn't enough.” Still, she sees the impact for Zina: “She is happy when she returns”

Life in the tent remains harsh. “All the children sleep next to each other. Above all else, we wish to leave. We can't even find a place to rent, there are no homes left.”

Since 2006, War Child has worked across the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza, supporting children and families through trusted local staff and partners.

Despite the devastating war, War Child and our partners have remained in Gaza working relentlessly despite extreme risks. We are supporting our local partners help communities recover and rebuild. Together, we are providing mental health and trauma recovery, education, child protection, and essential aid to the most vulnerable children and their families.