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In the face of the most catastrophic destruction to date in Gaza, children are paying the heaviest price. 1000s have been orphaned, left to fend for themselves.
OUR APPEAL: As we push and pray for an immediate end to the horrific violence in Gaza, you can be the lifeline the orphans of Gaza need. For those who have lost it ALL and have no one else, turn tragedy into hope with ongoing sponsorship.
Every orphan in Gaza is deprived of their basic rights and needs, facing constant trauma, loss and violence.
The horrors inflicted on all children in Gaza are beyond words. But for those who have lost parents, the pain is all the more severe.
• Entire lives upturned
• Homes destroyed
• Forced fleeing from war
• Futures destroyed
• Malnutrition and hunger • Disease and risk of starvation.
Your monthly sponsorship is life-saving. It lets them know our Ummah cares, and also gives them crucial access to:
Sponsor an Orphan struggling to survive in Gaza and truly change their life for the better.
The reward for aiding the orphan in Islam is immense.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) promised a special and everlasting reward for those who sponsor an orphan, stating: “I and the one who sponsors an orphan shall be in Paradise like these two” (holding two fingers together) (Bukhari).
Imagine the reward for aiding the orphans of war and oppression.
Rush to the promise of Rasool Allah (SAW).
Be an orphan sponsor today.
We have been supporting orphans in Gaza, Palestine, for many years now. At the moment, Islamic Relief Worldwide is sponsoring over 8,000 orphans in Gaza. This work is done in partnership with a number of local organisations on the ground that are well-experienced in the safeguarding of children and ensuring they receive the best chance at a bright future.
Your sponsorship allows for the life of the same orphan to be continuously transformed long term, which means they are able to truly rise above their circumstances, gain the opportunities they deserve, and build a better life for themselves and their families.
By providing access to nutritional services, health care, water solutions, education and family livelihood support, as well as striving to tackle critical issues, including ongoing trauma, poverty and inequality, we’re both transforming futures as well as saving lives.
Yes. We are still able to help families through our orphan sponsorship program, even in the current crisis when support is most needed and less easy to deliver. Families enrolled in the programme can still withdraw funds from Islamic Relief in some areas from various outlets using ATM cards, thanks to the payment system of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP has indicated that cash is still available in some areas for families to withdraw funds.
Although our 1-1 donor and orphan matching process usually takes 1-2 weeks after you start your donation, please note there will be a delay for any newly sponsored orphans in Gaza due to the current crisis. This means the process will take longer than the average processing time.
We expect this process may take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months; however we will do everything in our power to ensure the registration of new orphans in our system is completed as soon as possible.
Due to the nature of the situation in Gaza, our staff, volunteers and partner organisations are focused on providing aid and distributing supplies on a daily basis. Once the situation allows for our team to continue safely reaching our sponsored orphans and registering even more orphans in our system, we will pair you with an orphan and transfer your collected donations. Your collected donations are in trusted hands with almost 40 years of legacy.
As an organisation, Islamic Relief works with a wide range of communities, both Muslims and non-Muslims. We do not discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, race or ethnicity but give aid to those who are most in need.
For those who are interested, our orphan sponsorship program is Zakat eligible. If you would like to designate your orphan sponsorship as part of your Zakat donations, kindly let us know. We can pair you with a Muslim orphan specifically.
In the tragic event of a child being killed, Islamic Relief will continue to support the family. Islamic Relief has a commitment established long before the current emergency to continue to help the family of a deceased child whether the child has siblings or not. This is an extremely traumatic time, and the families we are supporting need ongoing support.
The current situation in Gaza is unprecedented. Our team on the ground are committed to helping those in need and will do everything they can to help locate missing children, although this may take some time given the scale of the current crisis and displacement of so many people. It is hard to tell how long this may take. Before this current crisis, Islamic Relief’s team were very close to the communities we were helping in their local areas, whereas now well over a million of Gaza’s population of 2.2 million have been forced to move from their home areas to try to find refuge in a safer place.
At the moment, the priority for families in Gaza is survival with the escalation of the humanitarian crisis. Islamic Relief is calling on the international community to ensure that adequate aid gets through the Egyptian border to help the people of Gaza. When the situation improves and settles, we will commit to continuing to help children access education and healthcare. At the moment it is difficult to foresee when this will happen.
It is possible to sponsor a child in the West Bank through Islamic Relief, and we welcome further support because there is a great need – so many orphans need our help, and their needs have increased in the current conflict and instability.