Gaza - When five-year-old Ireen’s parents bought her a small backpack and filled it with notebooks and pencils, they were full of anticipation for her very first day of kindergarten. Like children everywhere, she couldn’t wait to learn, play, and make new friends. But that day never came.

War soon reached their neighborhood. With destruction and danger closing in, her parents had no choice but to flee. They quickly stuffed a change of clothes into that same backpack and began a desperate journey across their once-beautiful country, leaving everything else behind.

When our team met Ireen and her family, they were living in an overcrowded tent city in an already bombed-out region of southern Gaza. Hunger was constant, and the little girl had no toys, no books, and no space to simply be a child.

Yet even in the middle of that hopelessness, Ireen’s creativity shone through. When our partners handed her family a food package with a box of macaroni inside, Ireen saw more than nourishment—she saw an opportunity for fun.

Stringing a few pieces of the pasta together, Ireen proudly wore them as a necklace—the kind of treasure every child longs for. In that moment, surrounded by rubble and loss, joy broke through.

In addition to the food, our partners spent time praying over Ireen’s family, reminding them that God sees them and cares for them.

Ireen’s story is just one among thousands. With your help, Impact Nations has delivered more than 1.2 million meals in Gaza alone. Each package represents more than calories—it represents dignity, hope, and the reminder that even in the darkest places, love is stronger than fear.

Your generosity makes stories like Ireen’s possible. Together, we can continue to bring health and hope to families in desperate need.