This project is inspired by Islam H who was a teacher in Gaza prior to the genocide. Displaced a few times with her family and children, Islam moved to the central area of Gaza. Among the belongings that she carried through dislocation was a small library for her children. She read for them the same books over and over during the genocide.

After settling in their tent, Islam began reading for other children along with her kids. She spent the days teaching them and creating a safe space so they could remember their childhood prior to the genocide. Islam began to notice that the children began feeling hopeful and excited for the next day.

Every day Islam received more and more children, happy to learn and be together. Now there are fifty children between the ages of 8-10 who want to join the project. Her tent doesn’t have the capacity to hold and create a loving space for all these children. With a bigger tent, she and the kids will get to draw and color, meditate, learn, and heal. Islam has started the healing process with the kids through art, spirituality, fun, and learning in these times when fear is worse than death.

She and two more of her fellow teachers make the foundation of this project. Being part of this project helps them counteract the despair and hopelessness and remind them who they once were before the genocide. The women of Gaza uphold this project and cultivate the seeds of hope in the children and each other.