Always on
This project successfully funded on 23rd November 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
A better life for families in Gaza camps
Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Aim
To provide Palestinian families living in a displaced people's camp in Deir al-Balah, south of Gaza City, with basic necessities for life.
UPDATE: 18th November 2025 - the camp is in desperate need of tarps to waterproof tents and warm clothes for children. PLEASE give what you can.
UPDATE: 17th October 2025
Thanks to those who donated, Ola has now been able to purchase food parcels for 10 families living in the Deir al-Balah displaced people's camp - THANK YOU so much for your support! The need is enormous and, despite the ceasefire, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is ongoing.
With winter fast approaching in Gaza, families living under canvas need to purchase warm clothes, blankets and covers for tents, as well as food. We want to raise more funds so that Ola can help families living in incredibly difficult conditions in the camp in Deir al-Balah to survive the winter months. Please help by donating if you can and/or sharing this page.
The video and photographs show some of the children who are benefiting from the food parcels.
This is Ali
This is Hala with her mother.
This is Ahmed
This is Yasmine
Each food parcel contained: oil for frying, sugar, semolina, 4 cans of cheese, 3 cans of tuna, bottle of milk, flour, rice, sauce and canned tomatoes.
28th September 2025
My friend Ola lived in Gaza City before the war. She now lives in a displaced people's camp in Deir al-Balah, further south, with her grown up children. Ola and I want to help provide families at the camp with basic necessities for life.
At the camp, Ola is surrounded by families with young children who are suffering malnutrition, who don't have enough clothes or shelter, who ran for their lives from the north of Gaza where their homes and livelihoods have been bombed to rubble.
People like Hanadi, Ola's sister and a mother of three young children. This photo shows Hanadi's three children at the camp - Maryam, Mena and Mera:
This is Hanadi's story:
Hanadi is a 28-year-old mother of three young children – aged 7, 6 and 3 – whose home is Gaza City.
Since the war broke out, Hanadi’s husband has been killed and her house bombed to rubble. These photos show the remains of her house in Gaza City:
Hanadi’s family faced daily food shortages in Gaza City – they ate only once a day and relied on canned foods like lentils and beans. All of Hanadi’s children suffered diarrhoea and weight loss. Getting the bare minimum was a major daily challenge: “When I had only one bottle of formula left, I resorted to putting just one spoonful in my youngest child’s full bottle…”
The children lived in constant fear and anxiety - their dreams shattered by the sound of airstrikes and tanks. Hanadi made the difficult decision to flee Gaza City and seek refuge in the south of Gaza, leaving behind their home and memories.
The journey south was like descending into hell.
“We walked, surrounded by shocking scenes we could never have imagined in our worst nightmares,” Hanadi said. “We weren’t allowed to stop, and we weren’t able to help the injured people we encountered along the way.”
“I left with just a handbag containing bread, a bottle of water for the children, and some basic necessities.”
“My children were terrified. They walked with their heads bowed and crying, with death all around them.”
Hanadi's 7-year-old daughter, Maryam, describes the journey from north to south:
"It was scary. I saw all the houses destroyed and people lying dead in the streets. The tanks around us were the most terrifying thing for me. The sight of tanks is really scary."
When Maryam isn't hiding from the sound of shelling, she loves to draw. Maryam said her drawings are now based on what she sees: tanks, planes, and dead people. "I want to draw happy things like I did before, but there's nothing happy anymore." Maryam wishes the war would end and they could resume their old lives. "I used to draw flowers, the sun, and my family. I wish I could return to our home and live safely with my family."
You can help families like Hanadi and Maryam's who are living in the camp in Deir al-Balah.
Any money raised will be used to purchase basic necessities and Ola and her adult children will distribute these to families in desperate need who are living in the camp.
The photo below shows Ola with her three nieces (Hanadi's children):
Aid trucks are still not allowed into Gaza so the only option people have is to buy food, however the cost of food and other basic necessities are prohibitive for many families living in the camp. The prices in the markets change depending on whether the crossing into Gaza is open or closed. If it is closed for a longer period of time then prices rise; if it continues to operate then prices decrease.
Any funds raised through this page will be used to purchase food and baby boxes for families in need at the camp where Ola is living.
£160 will purchase a food box for a family
£89 will purchase a baby bundle for a family
£249 will purchase a food box and baby bundle for a family
Ola and her grown up children will purchase and distribute the food boxes and baby bundles to families at the camp. She will provide receipts for items purchased and photos of the families receiving the food boxes and baby bundles.
The figures below are based on the prices the last time Ola went to the market (26th September 2025):
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Hanadi's story and about what Ola and I are trying to do to help families in need in Gaza. Any donation, no matter what size, will make a difference.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made