In May 2021, a devastating assault on Gaza, as Ramadan was coming to a close, left 261 Palestinians dead, one third of whom were children, many of whom were members of the same family. Hundreds more were injured and tens of thousands displaced. This is the story of Zahraa and her family who lived in one of the areas that was destroyed during the war.
Prior to the attack, Zahraa supported a family of 10 through the training and supplies she had received from KinderUSA’s chicken farming project. Her husband is unable to work as he suffers from injuries during the 2014 war. Zahraa’s story was one of success. She was able to provide for her family through chicken breeding, meeting all the financial, medical, and nutritional needs of her household. Sadly, Zahraa’s home and business were reduced to rubble along with their entire neighborhood.
Today the family is homeless, surviving as a result of the generosity and kindness of Zahraa’s brother in-law and his family. They live together in a small house not big enough to hold them all. They have lost everything. A recipient of KinderUSA’s emergency food distribution in 2021, they will join 2500 other families this coming Ramadan in April, receiving fresh food delivered twice during the month.
As we seek the blessings of another Ramadan, all of us at KinderUSA are praying for the families in Palestine and beyond to find peace in a world riddled with hostility and frightening uncertainty. While the world watches and responds to another refugee crisis, we are once again reminded that the people of Gaza have nowhere to go, relying on their own resilience and steadfastness.
Let’s remember our common humanity and let our Palestinian brothers and sisters know they are not forgotten while the world’s attention is drawn elsewhere.