Mar, 2026
At Anera, women’s empowerment isn’t just an idea we talk about. We see it happening every day.
My name is Islam. I’m a single mother to my 11-year-old daughter, Huda, and we live in Al Nasser in Gaza. Raising a child on your own comes with many responsibilities, and here those responsibilities can feel even heavier. But my daughter is my motivation. Everything I do, in my work and in my life, is driven by the hope of building a better future for her.
For the past 12 years, I’ve worked with Anera as a project officer focusing on women’s empowerment. Over time, this work has become very personal to me because I’ve seen firsthand what real support can mean for women who are determined to change their lives.
At Anera, women’s empowerment isn’t just an idea we talk about. We see it happening every day. Over the years, I’ve worked with many women who started with very small ideas, baking from their kitchens, sewing clothes, or making handmade items in a small corner of their homes. At first, these projects were simply a way to help support their families.
But with the right assistance, those small ideas can grow into something much bigger. Training, resources and encouragement give women the confidence to turn their skills into a real source of income.
One woman I worked with started her project alone in a small room in her house. Today, her business employs 14 other women. Watching that kind of transformation is one of the most rewarding parts of my work. What began as a way for her to support her own family became an opportunity for many other women in her community.
Moments like that remind me why women’s empowerment matters so much, especially after war. In difficult times, women are often the ones holding families together. They’re the ones thinking about how to feed their children, how to keep them in school, and how to create some sense of stability in the middle of so much uncertainty.
When a woman earns an income, the impact rarely stops with her. It spreads through the whole family. It can mean children stay in school. It can help families repair homes that were damaged and begin rebuilding their lives.
When a woman earns an income, the impact rarely stops with her. It spreads through the whole family. It can mean children stay in school. It can help families repair homes that were damaged and begin rebuilding their lives.
Over the years, I’ve seen this ripple effect again and again. Some women expand their businesses and begin employing others in their neighborhoods. Others use their income to fix damaged homes or create safer spaces for their children. These changes might seem small from the outside, but for the families living them, they mean stability and hope.
Being part of this work for more than a decade has given me the privilege of witnessing these transformations up close. It brings me real joy to see women turn their ideas into something that supports not only their own families but also others around them. These moments remind me that even in the most difficult circumstances, progress is still possible.
At home, my greatest hope is for my daughter. Huda loves drawing, especially designing dresses and clothes. She can spend hours sketching in her notebooks, filling page after page with colorful designs. Her dream is to become a fashion designer one day.
When I watch her drawing, I imagine a future where she can follow that dream freely. As a mother, that’s what I want most, for her to grow up believing her dreams are within reach..
That hope is what keeps me moving forward every day.
Gaza
Gaza City Governorate
In 1984, Anera’s Gaza City office opened with three staff members. It is still at the same location today, but with 17 staff members. From that location, the team manages water and sanitation, education, healthcare, economic development, and humanitarian relief projects throughout Gaza.
