After some further consideration of the best non-partisan way to support the welfare of children in Gaza, we have decided that any fund-raising we do over Christmas will now be on behalf of the charity Save the Children. We had originally chosen to donate to UNICEF, but appreciate that some people are currently expressing concerns around the business interests of the husband of the CEO. Whilst we have not seen any evidence that causes us concern and we respect UNICEF as an organisation, we understand the sensitivities and have concluded that the money will all end up in the same place anyway – namely providing much needed humanitarian relief for children.
The following is from Save the Children’s Gaza Appeal landing page and we are confident that this is totally child-focussed.
Children in Gaza are living through a nightmare – one that gets more distressing by the hour. All sides must make every effort to protect the lives of children in the latest outbreak of fighting.
Our teams are ready to provide lifesaving support as soon as it’s possible to do so. Our planned response includes:
- distributing more essential supplies, such as water, food, toiletries, cooking utensils, and other household essentials
- delivering Mental Health and Psychosocial Support services for children and caregivers
- setting up child friendly spaces so children have a safe space to play and recover
- distributing warm clothes and blankets, as well as cash and vouchers so families can buy food, medicines and any other essentials.
- providing fuel and water infrastructure for hospitals and distributing water storage tanks
- ensuring children continue to have access to education, by setting up temporary learning spaces and repairing damaged schools
- identifying the most at-risk children for referrals to protection related services
- deploying our Emergency Health Unit and procuring essential medical equipment
We’re also responding to escalating needs in Lebanon, and gearing up our teams across the region to prepare for any rise in children’s needs as the situation evolves.