From the heart of suffering, where war intersects with hope, the women of Gaza continue to write new chapters of resilience and creativity. With every new initiative, a thread of hope emerges from beneath the rubble, restoring life to its true meaning.
Driven by a steadfast belief in the right to live, the Psychosocial Counseling Center for Women (PSCCW) supported ten community-based women’s initiatives in the Gaza Strip under the project “Women Capable of Change.”
These initiatives aim to empower women and strengthen their economic and social participation, in the face of the harsh humanitarian and economic conditions endured by the people of Gaza.
The initiatives varied between productive, educational, and agricultural projects, each representing a story of rising again — a true source of strength and self-reliance.
Among these initiatives are projects for baking, traditional foods, sweets making, sewing, and embroidery, as well as agricultural initiatives focused on growing vegetables and home herbs, and educational projects aimed at teaching and providing psychological support to children after the war.
Nujoud Kaware’ is a woman who struggles to provide for her family after losing her husband — her main source of support in life. Yet, her hardships did not end there; she also lost her home and her only source of income in Gaza. Left with no other choice, she decided to fight for survival. With resilience and determination, she set up a modest stall on the sidewalk and began selling clothes to secure daily sustenance for herself and her children.
Amid dust and scorching sun, Nujoud stands every day with unwavering resolve, her eyes reflecting the story of a woman who refused to give up despite all she has lost. Instead, she chose to rise and rebuild her life — even from nothing.
She is one of the program’s beneficiaries and says, her eyes shining with determination:
“This support was not just financial assistance; it was a new beginning for us. It gave us hope and confidence that we can rise again, no matter how great the challenges we face”.
The story of Taa’a Mohammad Herz also stands out — the owner of the sewing project “Atelier Ebra & Kheit”, which served as a source of income for three women before the war destroyed part of its equipment.
Taa’a says:“My project was damaged. I tried to start again with threads of hope, but I faced great difficulty in purchasing raw materials due to their high prices — until the Psychosocial Counseling Center reached out and provided the necessary support to repair and restart the machines and purchase the needed materials.”
With a smile resembling the thread that stitches wounds into a new garment of hope, Taa’a adds:“Today, my project has come back to life, and I aspire to rehire the women who lost their jobs”.
As for the poet and novelist Amal Al-Yazji, her story was a poem in itself.
Amal says:“I established the Modern Gharas Kindergarten after seventeen years of dreaming and planning. It finally saw the light just one month before the war began”.
Yet her dream was left incomplete — the war completely destroyed the kindergarten. The building collapsed… but hope did not.
Amal adds:“When I saw the rubble where my dream once stood, for a moment I felt that everything was over. But I couldn’t give up. I was displaced to the south and started a free educational initiative for children in the tents. I refused to see the children of Gaza standing in lines for water and bread instead of their morning lines at school.”
She continues:“After the war stopped, I returned to check on the kindergarten in the north and found it completely destroyed. Yet, I decided to rebuild it once again. With the support of the Psychosocial Counseling Center, I was able to create a small space where children could see life and hope again. I wanted every child who enters ‘Gharas’ to find love, play, and laughter — instead of fear and destruction.”
Amal’s story was not merely a return to education — it was an act of resistance through hope, a message that dreams can indeed rise from beneath the rubble.
In another corner of the Gaza Strip, Ayat Abu Hammad clings to life with her own hands, cultivating what remains of the land in front of her tent to secure food for her orphaned children.
Ayat, who did not wait for a helping hand but created one herself, says:
“My only hope is that my children never go to sleep hungry. That’s why I worked hard to continue my project and plant even in front of my tent. The Psychosocial Counseling Center supported me with financial assistance that allowed me to expand my project — and thank God, it has become a source of good and sustenance for my children.”
Through these and many other stories, the Psychosocial Counseling Center for Women embodies its deep vision of linking economic empowerment with psychosocial support, building with women a partnership in resilience — not just in suffering.
PSCCW reaffirms its commitment to continue working across all areas of Gaza to build a more just and humane society, led by women capable of change and of creating hope, against all odds.
This project is being implemented in partnership with the Women’s Psycho-Social Counseling Center and the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD). The project is part of the Feminist Program for Women’s Economic Rights (FEM PAWER) program, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The program is led by the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation (KTK) in partnership with the Arab Women Organization (AWO) from Jordan, the Collective for Research and Training on Development Action (CRTDA) from Lebanon, and the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD).
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