ARDA Foundation
Education is not a privilege. It is a right—one that belongs to every child, in every corner of the world, including Gaza. It is through education that we learn who we are, how to live with one another, and how to build the future we dream of. It is the seed from which dignity, resilience, and peace grow. Yet today, in Gaza, this basic right is slipping through the fingers of hundreds of thousands of children.
The war has torn through not just buildings and homes, but through classrooms and learning. Today, more than 658,000 students in Gaza have no access to formal education. Only 25% of school-aged children are able to take part in learning activities. Nearly 90% of school buildings are damaged or completely destroyed. Beyond the physical destruction, the emotional toll is overwhelming: more than one million children need mental health and psychosocial support. For many of them, education was the only safe space—a daily rhythm that offered hope, structure, and a reason to imagine tomorrow. Now that space is gone, and with it, the foundation for recovery.
To leave a generation without education is not only unjust—it is dangerous. When children are left idle, afraid, and unprepared, the risks multiply. Poverty takes root deeper. Crime becomes more tempting. Fear replaces understanding. And in the absence of knowledge, extremist ideologies find easy ground to grow. An uneducated society is more vulnerable to manipulation, less capable of healing, and less able to protect its own future. The cost of inaction is measured not only in lost opportunities, but in broken communities and shattered peace.
In Islam, the first word revealed was “Read.” The invitation to seek knowledge is an invitation to come closer to God. When we teach, when we learn, we honor that divine call. We take part in a sacred act that lifts both the individual and the community toward something more just, more kind, more whole. This is why, even in the darkest moments, parents in Gaza continue to search for pencils, for books, for volunteers who can teach their children anything at all. Because they know, deep in their hearts, that the survival of their families and the rebuilding of their land begins with learning.
At ARDA Foundation, we believe education is the most powerful act of resistance against despair. It is how people reclaim control over their lives. It is how they begin to rise again—not with hands outstretched for help, but with skills, knowledge, and strength to build something new. That is why education is not only one of our priorities—it is one of our core values. Our long-term vision is not to keep delivering aid forever. Our vision is to empower people in Gaza to stand on their own feet, to rebuild their schools, train their teachers, and offer their children the chance to dream bigger than survival.
We do not believe that dependency defines dignity. On the contrary, true dignity comes from the ability to create, to contribute, to choose. And that begins with education. With every child who can read, write, think, and feel safe in a classroom, we take one step closer to a Gaza that is no longer known for its suffering, but for its strength.
Now is not the time to look away. Now is the time to act, with clarity and conviction. The children of Gaza are waiting—not just for aid, but for opportunity. Not just for safety, but for a future. Education is the bridge between war and peace, between despair and hope. And every one of us can help lay the stones.
At ARDA, we are committed to walking that path. And we invite you to walk it with us.
