A United Nations-led initiative asked children in Gaza about the future they want to see…
UNICEF’s “The Gaza We Want” project aimed to give children in Gaza a voice by hearing what they wanted to see in the region in the future.
The initiative engaged around 11,000 children aged five to 18-years-old in creative activities such as drawings, poems and plays – and with simple questionnaires. Instead of simply documenting the horrors they have endured, the activities and answers captured their hopes for Gaza in a time of peace.
Simple things
The results are striking (and heartbreaking) in their simplicity and clarity. Across the board, children expressed desires for safety, shelter and education. In their drawings, they depicted schools with proper walls and roofs, parks where they can play, hospitals where they feel secure, and streets where they can walk without fear.
For them, returning to school represents normality and stability after the recent years of attacks and displacement. Many expressed a desire to be able to sleep a for a whole night. These things are not and should not be luxuries, but to these children, they are everything.
To see some of the children’s drawings and to read their quotes, go direct to the sources below.
References
- Gaza’s children call for the future they need. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/gazas-children-call-future-they-need (Accessed 25 Feb 2026)
- ‘I dream of a safe life’: Gaza’s children share the future they want. Available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1167030 (Accessed 25 Feb 2026)
