Mrs. Najah's Kitchen - Gaza Emergency Meals

Thank you for supporting Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen. With your support, Mrs. Najah and her team have been able to cook and serve others amid life-threatening conditions.

Sadly, the building that housed Mrs. Najah's kitchen for all those years was destroyed. 

• On September 1st, Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen shared the sad news of the destruction of the Women's Program Center in Rafah. The whole area surrounding the building, including a clinic and school was bombed.  Mrs. Najah left the center after evacuation orders for Rafah were given. She said, "I couldn't bring things with me, only our pictures for our memories," holding onto the hope of returning and continuing her work there, never imagining losing her beloved place. 

• Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen achieved significant success due to your generous contribution. Before the war, the Kitchen provided chicken and rice meals to thousands of people in the Gaza Strip for four years, serving those who could not afford protein-rich meals.

• The WPC-R building was a warm and welcoming place for everyone, particularly women, youth, and children. It empowered them through educational programs, practical training, and engaging activities. Women were employed to cook and provide meals. The center also hosted classes for underprivileged children in Rafah in 2020 as part of an afterschool program. 

• Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen served as an inspiration for Rebuilding Alliance's hot meals program in Gaza. The program now serves 55,000 people daily in partnership with the World Food Programme. Even during the war, the center stayed open, providing shelter to displaced people and ensuring they had access to food and safety.

Mrs. Najah relocated her family, kitchen, and cooking team from Rafah to Deir al Balah in May. In late August, they had to relocate once again to seek safety after evacuation orders were issued for Deir Al Balah. They are operating a kitchen out of tents. 

Evacuation and relocation come with high costs as transportation is scarce and expensive. The humanitarian zones are constantly shrinking, leaving the people of Gaza uncertain about where to seek safety.

On September 9th, a new massacre in the humanitarian zone in Mawasi, Khan Younis destroyed 20 tents, killing 40 people. Mrs. Najah, the head of the Women's Programs Center in Rafah, and her team and family were in that vicinity. 

• We managed to reach her son on the phone, just a few minutes after the incident to check on Mrs. Najah. Her son told us, "We were asleep and suddenly, the tents and sky turned red. It was horrific, the kids screamed because the sound was so loud, and it was so close to us." 
• In the morning, our team visited Mrs. Najah. The team saw that despite the near-death experience in the night, Mrs. Najah and her team were still busy cooking to feed the displaced around them.This incident did not stop Mrs. Najah from her mission of feeding the displaced people of Gaza. 

Despite these challenges, Mrs Najahs kitchen provides an average of 11,000 meals a day to displaced people in Gaza every day. These meals are a lifeline for displaced people. “It’s not easy to work in the war, in a horrible situation but we try to help others,” said Mrs. Najah. She added, “We hope the war stops soon. We are very tired.”

Thank you for supporting Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen in their mission to nourish displaced families in Gaza.

Links:

• Mrs Najah of Women's Program Center speaks to being displaced
• "We are born every day," Mrs. Najah after a night of bombing