HELP CHILDREN WITH CANCER IN PALESTINE!

In the heart of Beit Jala, where the sounds of conflict echo beyond hospital walls, a young boy named Habib carries a question full of life: "When will I get to play with my friends at preschool again?" At just five years old, Habib loves to run, to dance, to laugh with his peers, but for the past 27 days he has been confined to a small hospital room. A diagnosis of leukemia changed everything in an instant. The bright days of childhood have been replaced with treatment rooms, medical routines, and the constant shadow of war.

Yet Habib’s story is not one of surrender. It is a reminder of why we walk beside children like him. At the Beit Jala Hospital, the only public hospital in the region with a working pediatric oncology unit, psychological support, play, and listening are offered freely to children and families facing unimaginable trials. Here, Soleterre’s teams do more than treat what medicine can see. They care for what cannot be seen but wounds just as deeply: the fear, the uncertainty, the loss of normal childhood experiences.

This support takes shape through the Soleterre Children Center, a space created specifically for children confronting cancer in a context of ongoing instability. It is designed to be safe, nurturing, and childfriendly, where laughter, creativity, and emotional expression have a place alongside medical care. Here, trained professionals provide psychological counselling and tailored pathways aimed at helping young patients manage anxiety, trauma, and the emotional burden of their illness and surroundings. Parents and caregivers also receive dedicated support, so that no family navigates these challenges alone.

Habib’s question about preschool, play, and the simple freedoms every child deserves highlights the reality that illness and conflict affect more than bodies; they impact hearts and minds. Healing, therefore, must be holistic. Through moments of play, expression, and emotional support, children rediscover agency over their own lives, even in the midst of hardship.

With your support, we can continue to offer psychological care, safe spaces, and emotional support for Habib and many other children like him. Your contribution makes it possible to sustain counselling sessions, family programmes, and childcentred environments where hope is strengthened and resilience can grow.

Because every child deserves not just to survive, but to play, to learn, and to dream again.