The Charter for Compassion is honored to partner with the Gaza Education Tent, founded by Ruwaida Kamal Amer, an educator in Gaza working tirelessly to educate and nurture the hearts and minds of children who have survived the genocide in Gaza.
Amid ongoing devastation where schools have been destroyed, families displaced, and childhoods disrupted, the Gaza Education Tent creates space for learning, healing, and hope. Offering education in core subjects such as Arabic, English, math, and science, as well as essential psychosocial support, helping children process trauma and begin to rebuild a sense of safety, dignity, and belonging. It is a powerful act of resistance and compassion, ensuring that even in the face of profound loss, the right to learn, to imagine, and to hope is not taken away.
Read more about the Gaza Education Tent and how you can support this urgent effort to restore hope through education.
The Crisis
After years of blockade, a global pandemic, and a devastating genocide, Gaza’s children have lost more than two years of education. Schools and universities have been destroyed. Books are gone. Teachers have been killed or displaced.
Today, many children ages 6–11 cannot read or write.
Beyond lost learning, children are suffering from:
- Severe anxiety and trauma
- Aggression, fear, and withdrawal
- A loss of hope for the future
Children are no longer simply children—they are struggling to survive.
The Solution: The Gaza Education Tent
The Gaza Education Tent is a grassroots initiative founded by Ruwaida Kamal Amer, an experienced biology teacher and child-focused educator.
This tent will serve as a safe learning and healing space for children who have lost everything.
Two Core Goals
Fight Illiteracy
- Arabic reading and writing (foundational literacy)
- Expansion to English, Math, and Science
Heal Trauma
- Psycho-social support
- Art, play, group activities, and creative therapy
- Safe, nurturing adult guidance
What Is Needed
The project will begin in a tent-based learning space and requires $10,000 in startup costs to establish the educational tent, including a bathroom and an additional annex for equipment, supplies, and stationery.
The project requires:
- A weather-safe tent (nylon and wood structure)
- Books, paper, pencils, art supplies, and learning materials
- Rugs and floor tables suitable for sandy ground
- Salaries for 3 teachers and 2 assistants
- Daily meals and winter clothing for children
- Monthly rent for the learning space
Each month, approximately $5,000 will be needed to cover teacher salaries, learning materials, and meals for the children.
Everything in Gaza is scarce and costly—but education cannot wait.
A caravan learning space will eventually be built in the Al-Fakhari area, east of Khan Younis, which lies within the yellow line and has been completely destroyed. Developing this project is crucial to supporting and saving the children in that area, and it depends on continuous funding and support.
Why This Matters
“Education is the last hope Gaza’s children have. Teaching is not just a job—it is a calling.
And there has never been a more important time to answer it.”
~ Ruwaida Kamal Amer
Despite displacement, loss, and destruction, Ruwaida’s commitment remains unbroken.
This project is about rebuilding minds, restoring dignity, and giving children a future beyond survival.
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Ruwaida’s Story
"Since graduating from Al-Aqsa University with a degree in biology, I've been looking for work. I decided to start my own business by giving lessons from my home. I would spend about 12 consecutive hours teaching students of all grade levels and all subjects. After two years, I got tired of working alone and thought about having my own educational project. At that time, I was in contact with a team of girls, each with her own project. They all managed to launch their projects, ranging from energy and embroidery to art. I was also working with the entrepreneurship mentor, Dr. Yasser Al-Alam, and at the same time, I worked with many well-known educational centers in Gaza, such as the Culture and Free Thought Association, Al-Nayzak Foundation, Abdul Mohsen Qattan Foundation, and other educational projects. Then, I started working as a science teacher at the Rosary Sisters School in 2019 until the war began. I also worked at a center in Rafah, with support from a foreign organization, on an educational project that supports children, from 2020 until now.
I focused on children's education. It mattered to me that the child understood, that they had a positive relationship with their teacher, and that the classroom environment was a safe place for them. That's why I was always a friend and a mother to everyone. Caring for a child's education is one of their most important rights because children in Gaza have no other options in life besides education. They study, keep up with their lessons, and care about them, but they must love it. This war was difficult; it deprived them of that right and placed responsibilities in their lives that were beyond their years and heavier than their capabilities. I never forgot my educational project for a moment, even after the martyrdom of the mentor who was working with me, and now is the time to realize it.”
— Ruwaida Kamal Amer
About Ruwaida Kamal Amer
Ruwaida Kamal Amer miraculously survived the genocide in Gaza, moving from bombed homes to temporary shelters and soggy tents.
By training, she is a highly enthusiastic Biology teacher, specializing in managing students, maximizing learning opportunities in diverse classrooms, and creating engaging learning environments. She is dedicated to continuous professional development, strong communication with students, and providing meaningful course materials that support active learning.
Although Gaza’s educational structures have been destroyed, Ruwaida’s spirit and commitment to teaching remain intact.
Contact
Email: ruwaidaamer8@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +972 59-723-7068
