Supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the initiative has engaged children between the ages of five and 18 to share their vision of rebuilding the territory that has been largely destroyed since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in October 2023.
The initiative helps “reinforce the importance of meaningful and continued child participation in decisions about the future of Gaza,” Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s head of communications in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said at a briefing with journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.
A drawing shared by children in Gaza as part of the “Gaza we want” initiative launched by UNICEF in February.
Safety first
More than 11,000 children, including children with disabilities, have participated in the initiative that asked them to “imagine dignity” and share their ideas.
The children prioritized shelter and safety; real schools with roofs, walls and toilets; followed by hospitals and psychological support; and finally places where they can play and “recover what the war stole from them.”
Crickx said that when thousands of children independently draw clean streets, classrooms and parks, “it’s not a coincidence. It’s a direct appeal to the world.”
These are not extraordinary demands. These are the foundations of childhood – Jonathan Crickx
“The deepest wish of children is simply to be able to sleep through the night, to walk to school without fear… I met many children whose bodies had healed but whose fear had not.” Crickx said, echoing the call to provide mental health support alongside physical care.
‘The clarity of children’
Crickx described his encounter with 15-year-old Hala at a temporary learning center in the central Gaza city of Deir Al-Balah.
The months without school have hurt her education, but she dreams of a safe life, a safe home, her own bedroom and a good school, she said.
Despite the ceasefire – in force since last October – more than 135 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza. UNICEF says listening to children must be the foundation of any credible reconstruction.
“It is difficult to ignore the clarity of children who have experienced so much uncertainty. A recovery that ignores children’s voices will fail them and Gaza.” He said the UNICEF communications chief.
“What the children of Gaza describe is not abstract. It is the Gaza they want and have the right to grow up in.”
A drawing shared by children in Gaza as part of the “Gaza we want” initiative launched by UNICEF in February.
Help continues
Aid continues for children in Gaza as UN humanitarian services provide fresh bread, hot meals and digital cash assistance to displaced families.
Transport of drinking water by truck has intensified after a large water pipeline connecting Gaza to Israel was shut down two weeks ago when two leaks were identified, the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) reported on Tuesday.
To restore sanitation levels, the UN and its partners are acting quickly to rehabilitate pumping stations that were damaged or destroyed during the war. This is critical as sewage overflows can lead to water contamination and the spread of waterborne diseases.
Although two new clinics for screening for non-communicable diseases have begun operations in northern Gaza, there remains a critical shortage of medicines and laboratory supplies, particularly for cancer and heart diseases.