Because Every Child Has the Right to Learn
My name is Mohammed Hussein. I am a Palestinian teacher from Gaza, with a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Al-Aqsa University, which I received in 2017. I have dedicated much of my life to teaching children, particularly during the early years when the foundations of reading, writing, and mathematics are established.
During the war, I witnessed thousands of children in Gaza being deprived of their right to education. I saw how their early school years were passing without learning, and how an entire generation was at risk of losing the essential skills they need to build their future.
It was painful to watch children grow up without access to schools, while others reached the age when they should be learning the basics without receiving the educational foundation they need.
That is why I decided to establish Olive Garden School, a free educational initiative in Gaza. I believe that education is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a fundamental right that no child should be denied, regardless of the circumstances.
I opened the school because I could not stand by and watch children grow older day after day without learning to read, write, or do basic mathematics. They deserve the educational foundation they need to continue their learning in the future.
After years of war, displacement, and interrupted education, many children need more than simply returning to a classroom. They need to rebuild their educational foundations and find a space where they feel safe, have opportunities to learn and play, express themselves, and begin to heal from the psychological trauma they have experienced.
This is the mission of Olive Garden School: education, psychosocial support, recreational activities, and giving children the opportunity to reclaim their childhood and build their future.
Today, the school serves more than 70 children in simple classroom tents in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis. We work with limited resources but with a strong determination to help these children overcome the educational gaps left by the war and build the foundations they need to continue their education.
I do not see these children as numbers or names on an attendance sheet. I see children who deserve a genuine opportunity, and a future that we can help protect through education.
However, sustaining this initiative requires support. We need resources to provide educational materials, improve the classroom environment, and continue welcoming children and helping them learn and grow.
Supporting Olive Garden School means more than supporting a tent or a classroom. It means investing in a generation that must not be left behind.
We cannot change everything the children of Gaza are experiencing, but we can give them a place to learn, moments of happiness, and an opportunity to build a better future.
Help us keep the doors of learning open for the children of Gaza. Every child who learns today deserves the opportunity to shape their future tomorrow.
