The last few weeks have been some of the hardest for our HopeNest team. Just when we think the nightmare of Gaza cannot get worse, it does.
This time, the devastation is not only the bombs, the injuries, or the displacement – it is the slow, cruel grip of a man-made famine. And it is the children who are suffering most.
Our colleague Sujud, who has been courageously leading trauma-processing workshops for displaced children, shared words that broke us:
“I can no longer provide workshops. The children faint from hunger. How can I do activities with them? How can I even attempt to bring hope when all they want is a piece of bread?”
Her words capture the stark truth – trauma healing is impossible when survival is at stake. The empty stomachs of children silence any attempt at play, learning, or comfort. What they crave is not a drawing exercise or a song, but the simple dignity of food.
And yet, in famine, even when funds exist, food cannot be found.
This week, Sujud herself fell ill. Weak from hunger, she managed to receive a glucose injection to keep from fainting again. Her health, and the health of the children she serves, is a growing concern with each passing day.
We have had to make the heartbreaking decision to pause the trauma-processing workshops and shift our campaign southwards, towards water distributions. It is not what we want, but it is what survival demands.
Every day, Sujud sends us updates from inside Gaza. Each message is a cry that echoes in our hearts – not just for aid, but for justice. HopeNest, along with many other NGOs, is raising its voice louder than ever: urging governments and leaders to let aid in. To stop the blockade. To end the famine that is being inflicted on innocent lives.
We carry the faces of those children in our minds – their small hands reaching out, their eyes clouded with exhaustion. We refuse to look away.
This man-made famine must end. For the love of the children, it must end.
HopeNest remains committed to them – to their survival first, and then to their healing. But we cannot do this alone. We need every voice, every prayer, and every act of solidarity.
Stand with us. For Sujud. For the children. For life to triumph over hunger.