Bread and dignity: Feeding families in Gaza

Before the war, Ali  led a quiet life.

He lived in Al Atatra, northern Gaza, a vibrant agricultural community where farmers planted their food and were self-sufficient, producing strawberries that were so exceptional that they were exported worldwide. Ali worked as a lawyer, handling small legal matters such as land sales, marriage contracts, and inheritance disputes.

"My life was very calm," he recalled. "I wished for nothing more than that calm, serene days."

When the bombs fell on Al Atatra, Ali and his family fled their home, leaving behind their belongings and their memories, believing they would return in days. Over a year later, they remain displaced, far from the life they once knew.

When Ali and his family arrived at a shelter in Dier Al Balah, pitching a tent on the playgrounds of a secondary school alongside hundreds of other families, they struggled to find food, clean water or formula for the children. At first, they could find what they needed at the market, but soon, their savings ran out. They asked relatives for assistance, but they, too, were struggling and could not help.

"We thought this would be the end of our family," says Ali.

With support from the Government of Canada through the Humanitarian Coalition, Islamic Relief Canada stepped in to provide fresh vegetables and access to clean drinking water for the children and families who had found refuge at the school in Dier Al Balah.

When prices in the market soared, Islamic Relief provided flour so that families could make bread. When the local market sold nothing but canned food, they delivered fresh vegetables. 
Ali has since joined the committee that manages food distribution in the school. He explains that Islamic Relief and its local partners have provided critical support to the community gathered at the school--providing mattresses, blankets and clothes -- all the things families had left behind when they fled their homes.

"Their efforts really saved our lives and helped us live in dignity," says Ali. "They made us feel like in our houses in the north of Gaza. They gave us everything we needed."

Ali and his family have found moments of dignity amid the chaos. But for them and countless others, only a shared commitment to peace will allow them to rebuild their lives and return to Al Atatra and the homes they once knew.

Learn more about our response to the Gaza humanitarian emergency here.