Six months on - every smile counts

“Are we really children?” asks 11-year-old Lama. “I know I am…I am supposed to be a child, but I do not feel like a child. I have hundreds of dreams and hopes, but I have yet to see one of them come true.” 

Lama is one of thousands of children who lived through the latest war in Gaza, which lasted 51 days during July and August 2014. This was her third experience of war and the most difficult so far.

"I do not feel like a child. I have hundreds of dreams and hopes, but I have yet to see one of them come true.” 

Lama lives with her parents, her grandmother and her six siblings in a small house. Even before the war her family struggled to make ends meet, as they did not have a steady source of income. Lama’s father was the only person who worked and he did not have a dependable job. The last thing they needed was more fighting.

“Nothing is harder for a mother, than seeing her child’s tears of fear when she can do nothing to help,” said Um Ashraf, Lama’s mother. “My children faced death every day during the conflict…and my hug was not enough to protect them.”

Lama’s home was not destroyed during the war, but the neighbourhood was heavily bombarded. Two people on a motorcycle were killed outside the family’s home by a fighter jet, leaving a horrific scene, which they could see from their window. 

“My children faced death every day during the conflict…and my hug was not enough to protect them.”

After that event, the family decided to seek refuge at a relative’s house. “We felt death pursuing us,” said Um Ghazi, Lama’s grandmother. “Fear and helplessness were the main things we felt,” she added. Lama’s aunt opened her home for all of her relatives during the war. Her neighbourhood had not been bombed, so was considered relatively safe. 

In total, nearly 30 people took shelter in the three-room house. 

“I felt like we lived in a crowded prison,” remembers Lama. “We couldn’t leave the house to play with our friends. I slept next to three other children on the same couch and we were covered with one small blanket…I felt cold and scared.”

Six months ago, when a ceasefire was reached, Lama’s family returned home, but life was not much easier. Lama’s father is a construction worker but he has been unemployed since the conflict, as very few building materials have made their way into Gaza in order for reconstruction to begin.

Lama’s home also lacked many basic elements for living. There weren’t enough blankets to go round and they did not have a cooking stove, instead they heated their food and their house by fire. 

World Vision has been providing Lama and her family with support whenever possible. Lama received a school bag, a school uniform and some stationery. 

World Vision has been providing Lama and her family with support whenever possible. Lama received a school bag, a school uniform and some stationery. Her family was provided with a cooking stove, a washing machine, an electric heater and enough blankets so every member of the family could have their own. 

“My family and I are very happy and grateful for the help provided by World Vision,” says Lama. “This makes our life much easier and our struggles less.”

The hope provided by these modest items bloomed when Lama took part in activities held at a World Vision Child Friendly Space. Lama likes to paint and dance, especially the traditional Dabka dance. She had the chance to do both along with many other activities. What Lama needs and wants more than anything, however, is to live like a child; to run, to play, to laugh, to learn, to feel safe and be loved. 

What Lama needs and wants more than anything, however, is to live like a child; to run, to play, to laugh, to learn, to feel safe and be loved. 

World Vision is reaching a limited number of children through its interventions, but knows until there is a real change in the harsh reality that people in Gaza face, there will always be a need for relief and emergency assistance. 

Until then, every blanket and every smile counts.