Shining a light: case studies of real people we help.

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Case Studies

Humans of Gaza: Alaa Mohammed

Alaa Mohammed, a 34-year-old Palestinian mother, stands under the relentless sun in Deir Al Balah, where her life has been reduced to a plastic tent with her 4 other family members. This flimsy shelter is all that stands between her family—her husband, her two children, and her elderly mother-in-law—and the brutal reality that has taken hold for over a year now. Displaced from their home during the ongoing Israeli attacks, they are trapped in a cycle of survival, with no end in sight.

The tent

Alaa has lived her entire life under occupation, but the past year has been a nightmare like nothing she’s ever known. Born and raised in Palestine, she built a life, married, and had her children under difficult conditions, but this is different. The relentless airstrikes, bombings, and blockades have stolen even the little they once had. Now, they have no home, no safety. Everything has changed. Their daily existence revolves around fear—fear of what tomorrow might bring, fear of the next attack, fear of not making it through the night.

How they cook and water supply

Inside their tent, the heat is unbearable, turning their makeshift home into a stifling furnace. The thought of surviving the approaching winter with such little protection fills Alaa with dread. Her children, Ali and Tala, try to cope, but the stress and hardship wear them down. Every day is a fight for basic necessities—food, clean water, and medicine. Ali and Tala, like so many children around them, struggle with health issues brought on by the unsanitary living conditions and lack of medical supplies. Alaa’s mind is consumed with worry, knowing there’s little she can do to ease their suffering. Ali has respiratory issues and Tala has sever skin issue from these hars liigcoditons 

Today, Alaa waits in line, hoping to receive a small grant from SWAN, a charity that has been a lifeline for her family. We have been giving small grants to 20 families to help them in this time.  The money will help them buy what little food is available, but it never stretches far enough. Prices have soared beyond reach, and the simplest things—vegetables, soap, medicine—have become unattainable luxuries. Every day, the need grows, and every day, Alaa worries about how they will make it through the next.

Skin conditions in the family

As she waits, she notices an elderly woman in front of her, shaking with sobs. Gently, Alaa asks what’s wrong. The woman, through her tears, says, “I can’t believe I can feed my family today.” Alaa’s heart sinks. She knows that feeling, the disbelief of being able to provide even a single meal in the face of such overwhelming need. While others in the world go about their lives, dining at restaurants and enjoying normalcy, Alaa and her neighbors line up for aid, desperate for enough to keep their families alive.

A few weeks ago, with the grant money, Alaa was able to buy a small piece of chicken. It was a rare luxury, and her family feasted on it, savoring every bite. Moments like that are fleeting, but they offer a brief respite from the constant hunger. Yet even with that small joy, the need remains vast and unrelenting. They have gone months without access to fresh vegetables, and hygiene products like soap and shampoo are now beyond their reach. Every drop of water is rationed, used sparingly for washing when it’s available at all.

The reality in Gaza is far worse than what the world sees. The lack of food, clean water, and hygiene products gnaws at their dignity. Medical supplies are almost non-existent, and Alaa watches helplessly as her family suffers from conditions that could be easily treated if only they had access to care. The constant shortage of these basic necessities is crushing.

Tala

Despite everything, Alaa holds onto hope. She prays for the team at SWAN and the donors who have allowed her family to survive this long. Their aid has been crucial, but it is not enough. The need for food, medical supplies, and hygiene products grows more desperate by the day. Without more support, families like Alaa’s face an even grimmer future.

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SWAN are working on the ground in Gaza as we have a special license allowing us to operate within through our numerous projects such as weekly tankers of water, building a solar powered water well, vegetable packs and food, a SWAN Field Hospital in Khan Younis and Grants that are given to families like Alaa. 

However, a year into this conflict we need support to continue this. We would like to deliver essential aid daily however we simply do not have the funds. We want to support more families like Alaa’s and care for children like Tala and Ali but we cannot without your support. 

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