{"id":26990,"date":"2026-02-25T15:41:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T13:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers-qa\/channelafrica\/news\/children-in-gaza-share-hopes-for-peace-safety-through-unicefs-gaza-we-want-initiative\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:34:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:34:57","slug":"children-in-gaza-share-hopes-for-peace-safety-through-unicefs-gaza-we-want-initiative","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/children-in-gaza-share-hopes-for-peace-safety-through-unicefs-gaza-we-want-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Children in Gaza share hopes for peace, safety through UNICEF\u2019s \u201cGaza We Want\u201d initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">More than 11 000 children, including those with disabilities, have taken part in The Gaza We Want initiative, which invites young people aged five to 18 to imagine a dignified future and articulate what they need most to rebuild their lives after years of conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Speaking from Geneva, Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF\u2019s Head of Communications in the occupied Palestinian territory, said the initiative reinforces the importance of meaningful child participation in planning Gaza\u2019s recovery. \u201cWhen thousands of children independently draw clean streets, classrooms and parks, it is no coincidence. It is a direct appeal to the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Across drawings, poems and handmade models, children prioritised safety, shelter, functioning schools with roofs and toilets, hospitals, mental\u2011health support and spaces to play. \u201cThese are not extraordinary demands. They are the fundamentals of childhood,\u201d said Crickx.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>He recounted meeting 15\u2011year\u2011old Hala in Deir Al\u2011Balah, whose education has been disrupted for months. She dreams of a safe home, her own bedroom and a real school. \u201cChildren\u2019s deepest wish is simply to sleep through the night and walk to school without fear,\u201d he said, noting many carry psychological wounds long after their physical injuries heal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Despite the ceasefire in place since October 2025, more than 135 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza. UNICEF says reconstruction must be anchored in children\u2019s voices. \u201cA recovery that ignores children\u2019s voices will fail them, and fail Gaza,\u201d Crickx warned.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Humanitarian assistance meanwhile continues, with fresh bread, cooked meals and digital cash transfers reaching displaced families. Water trucking has increased after a major pipeline from Israel shut down due to leaks, and efforts are underway to rehabilitate damaged sewage\u2011pumping stations to prevent outbreaks of waterborne disease.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Two new clinics for non\u2011communicable disease screening have opened in North Gaza, but severe shortages of medicine and laboratory supplies persist, particularly for cancer and cardiac care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13395,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-26990","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Children in Gaza are using art, poetry and models made from the rubble of war to express their hopes for the future, through a United Nations (UN) Children's Fund (UNICEF)\u2011supported initiative designed to restore the \u201cfundamentals of childhood\u201d and ensure young voices shape reconstruction efforts.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Children in Gaza are using art, poetry and models made from the rubble of war to express their hopes for the future, through a United Nations (UN) Children's Fund (UNICEF)\u2011supported initiative designed to restore the \u201cfundamentals of childhood\u201d and ensure young voices shape reconstruction efforts.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27279,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990\/revisions\/27279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=26990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}