Help! My friends in Gaza desperately need your support.

Hello all,

My name is Máiréad Robb. I am an Art teacher in St Louise’s College, Belfast. Along with my good friend Loretta Harper we hosted three amazing Palestinian children and their teacher in September 2022 from Gaza as part of an educational program organised by the Hands Up Project. The children, Rahaf Alkfarna, Yara Sabaa and Malak Zuhair and their teacher Rinan Jamal stayed with Loretta for a wonderful weekend in County Down before coming to Belfast, staying with me in my home with my family. The children joined me each day for lessons in my school preforming their play, “Welcome to Earth”, directed by their teacher Rinan to a packed room of students, teachers and guests. The inspirational performance was full of joy, hope, passion and optimism. It was a life changing experience for me to see such strength and spirit from these very special young girls. Loretta and I fell in love with girls and remained in regular contact., exchanging stories of life in Ireland and Gaza.

From October 2023, the lives of these children have changed forever. Their homes have been destroyed. Their schools bombed. There is widespread hunger and disease as the children have no food or clean water. Along with their families, the children have had to evacuate their homes and along with thousands of other Palestinian people are now displaced, taking shelter in tents in Rafah. There is no safe place in Gaza. As Israel continues its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, the civilian death toll stands at over 33,000 people, 16,000 of whom were women or children.

loretta and I have set up this crowdfunding page to give financial support to Rahaf, Yara, Malak and Rinan. Currently they are in desperate need of food and warm clothes. When this war is over they will need help and support to build their lives again. Every child needs to be safe and have dreams of a better future.

With love and gratitude,

Máiréad and Loretta