Gaza: Creating hope in the classroom

Each dawn of a new day, Salwa starts her day helping local children regain a sense of routine and stability in difficult times.

“When Ms. Salwa is around, we feel safe, and she lets us express everything we feel inside,” said Layan, one of her students.

Layan is among children who have faced unimaginable difficulties in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), and Sawla’s classroom provides a daily structure and a safe space where each of them can begin to feel seen and heard again.

With support from the OCHA-managed OPT Humanitarian Fund, Salwa was trained through a programme established by the Teacher Creativity Centre in Gaza, in partnership with the international non-governmental organization, War Child, to deepen skills in social-emotional learning approach.

This approach helps students to start reflecting on their encounters and articulate their emotions through activities.

For Salwa, the programme was more than a career achievement; it was an opportunity to create a more resilient foundation for the next generation in these troubled times.

Outside of her classroom, Salwa encounters the same experiences as her students.

She was relocated to a small tent in Gaza after being forced out of her home and job, but is now the main provider for her family, including her sick mother and her son, Zain, who both need continuous medical attention.

“I had no choice but to be strong,” Salwa says. “My strength was my responsibility to my son and to myself.” For Zain “My mother is my safety … she’s the one who taught me to be strong,”.

The OCHA-managed OPT Humanitarian Fund is designed to support frontline humanitarian partners so they can respond quickly, where needs are greatest. Through support to people like Salwa, the Fund is helping to shape the future of Gaza, one child at a time.

Read more about Salwa and how you can help: A teacher in Gaza creates a space to heal | OCHA

Original text and photos by War Child, a partner of the OCHA-managed Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund

Posted May 2026.

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