“The Gaza We Want” – a UNICEF initiative that reflects children’s perspectives on recovery and reconstruction

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, today, Tuesday, Jonathan Krekes, Head of the Communications Department at UNICEF in the State of Palestine, explained the content of this initiative, noting that talk about the children of Gaza has continued over the past two years, as their deaths and injuries were reported, and their suffering was described. “But what has been lost is something much simpler, but very important: their voices.”

That’s why, says Jonathan Crakes, UNICEF launched the “Gaza We Want” initiative.

He added: “Listening to children is not an option, but rather the minimum for real recovery. Because the Gaza that the children of Gaza describe is not just an abstract image, but rather the Gaza they want and in which they have the right to grow up.”

Participation of children in decisions related to the future of Gaza

By documenting children’s priorities and views, this initiative contributes to guiding recovery and reconstruction efforts and policy planning that takes the needs of children into account, while emphasizing the importance of children’s effective and ongoing participation in decisions regarding the future of Gaza, according to Mr. Jonathan Krekes.

He explained that the organization communicated – in cooperation with its partners – with children between the ages of 5 and 18 in all five governorates of Gaza, including children with disabilities. 1,603 children completed a structured questionnaire, and at least 11,000 children participated in various creative activities, all designed to be safe and voluntary. “No child was asked to relive the experience of violence. They were asked to imagine dignity.”

Jonathan Crakes explained that the children were invited to express themselves in the ways they naturally prefer and use: drawings of neighborhoods and gardens, models made from rubble and recycled materials, poems, short stories, and letters. They also participated through group murals, plays, and simple questionnaires with the support of trained facilitators.

He continued, saying: “These drawings and poems are not symbolic, but statements and evidence expressed with crayons, cardboard and courage. When thousands of children, of different ages and regions, independently draw similar things – trees, schools, hospitals, clean streets, playgrounds – it is not an accident, but a direct appeal to the world. They want to reclaim their childhood.”

The story of little girl Hala

The UNICEF official shared the story of Hala, a 15-year-old girl he met three weeks ago at a temporary UNICEF education center in Deir al-Balah. She told him: “Being out of school has affected my learning a lot. Education is important for my future, so I dream of a safe life – a safe house, my own room, and a good school where I can learn and grow.”

Jonathan Crikes said that Hala summed up in one sentence what he heard repeatedly in Gaza: “Children want decent shelter, they want safety, and they want to return to school. All decision-makers must listen to their call and make it a top priority. These are not exceptional demands, but rather the basics of childhood.”

Ability to sleep through the night

Through the Gaza We Want initiative, Krekes says children are telling us not only what they have lost, but what should come next.

⬅️Their first demands are shelter and safety.

He said that the most sincere wish for the children of Gaza is simply to be able to sleep through the night and walk to school without fear.

However, the UNICEF official pointed to reports that more than 135 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ceasefire.

⬅️Secondly, children want real schools, not tents. Schools with suitable walls and ceilings. Schools where they feel safe.

⬅️Third, children described hospitals as quiet, clean, and safe. No places that “smell of fear.”

⬅️ Fourth, playing is not a luxury. Young children, in particular, are quite clear: parks, beaches, sports fields, safe places to play. Play is a way for children to regain what war took from them.