The Families of the “Una Terra in Comune” Project

 

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In Gaza, families are the heart of society:networks of protection, care, and survival.

Every act of support towards one family ripples out to others, because here, solidarity isn’t just a value: it’s a survival system.

Samaher Al-Akharasa is the centre of this network. A mother of six — from little Abdullah, only four years old, to sixteen-year-old Ghazal — she was the first person we connected with. Through her, one by one, all the other families became linked with those offering help. It all started with her.

Around her, these people have gathered:

Her sister-in-law, Samar Al-Aqra, widowed since 2018, who is now fighting to get her three daughters back to school;

Her brother-in-law Saeed Al-Akharasa, his wife Nadia, and their eight young children. Saeed and his family once again fled the bombings, moving from Gaza City to Deir Al Balah;

Her niece Yusra Al-Akharasa with six children. Thanks to your help, Yusra and her children escaped certain death when we managed to evacuate them from Rafah to Khan Younis, and later from Khan Younis to Deir Al Balah;

Her niece Nancy Nahed Al-Aqra, mother of two children, exhausted but determined to protect them;

Her niece Iman Rouhi Al-Aqra, a young mother of four. She too is a pillar of her extended family, supporting both her mother-in-law Adla and her sister Yusra;

Her mother-in-law Adla Al-Aqra, nearly seventy, who takes care of her four grandchildren who lost their mother;

Amal Al-Aqra, Iman’s sister-in-law, a future nurse, and her husband, a fisherman, both dream of resuming their lives;

Iman’s cousin by marriage Aya Raed Al-Aqra, who gathers aid for her family of seven adults and three children;

Fatma Walid Mohamed Al-Aqra is a friend and neighbour of Samaher. Fatma has five children; she and her husband Talaat are both ill. Fatma writes to us that before this war, her work was to provide psychological support to those in need.

New families who have joined

Thanks to the support received, we have been able to extend help to five new families:

Iman’s brother-in-law Mohammed Afif Rashid Al and his wife Alaa: a young couple who lost their first child, Kenan, at only six days old. Alaa is pregnant again. Thanks to your help, she received an operation that saved the life of the baby she is carrying, but she still suffers from malnutrition;

Iman’s sister-in-law Maysaa Afif, mother of seven children, gave birth to Ibrahim while bombs were exploding. She lives without water, food, or electricity;

Hanin Mawla, mother of thirteen children (her own and adopted), one of whom was killed while trying to get humanitarian aid at the infamous American distribution centres, and another captured by the Israeli army while fishing;

Fatma’s sister, Sahar Walid Mohamed Ashour, divorced, lives in a tent in Khan Younis with her six children and her mother;

The family of Sondos Mjdy: all bright students, now forced to study without light or internet connection. The father is a paramedic, on the front line every day.

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