It becomes a voice that survives distance. A memory that refuses to disappear.
A bridge between people who may never meet, yet somehow still understand one another.
We’ll never really know what led Fatema to write ‘Not for shooting gun’ instead of ‘Not for shooting guns’. But we do know that we’re glad that she did, because this is poetry, and, like all good poetry, it uses language in original ways to help us understand something about the world. More specifically it helps us to understand the world of the children of Gaza who, to the colossal shame of the rich and powerful nations, have lived their entire lives with gun as an uncountable noun.
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What does it really mean to “find your voice” in English?
For me, it was not about grammar rules or memorising vocabulary. It was about confidence, identity, and expression.
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‘One for my brother’ is our latest collection of handwritten and illustrated poetry by children. It came out of last year’s poetry competition, where we asked children to write a short poem using 14 year old Tala Rasa’s painting (done in Gaza in 2022) as the source of inspiration.
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By Liz Colo
This week’s blog post is written by Liz, one of our many brilliant volunteers in Spain.
Spring has definitely sprung here in Jerez de la Frontera, in the south of Spain. The heavy rain has gone, the sun is shining, the oranges have been harvested, and the cherry trees are in full bloom.
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I was lucky enough to spend most of January at the Hands Up Project’s educational space in Cairo. One of the things I was doing was helping to set up a remote theatre space so that plays could be performed live from one of the rooms to classrooms around the world.
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Today, my heart received one of the most beautiful gifts a mother’s heart could receive.
From a small room in Cairo, three children lifted their voices and sang to me.
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Last year the day we set out, Israel broke the ceasefire in Gaza. This year, the day we set out, it attacked, with the US, Iran. The Pilgrimage seems to have the knack of marching in step with catastrophic events.
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From Poems to Presentations: Building Confident Speakers
At The Hands Up Project, our mission has always been about empowering Palestinian children to share their stories with the world and amplifying their voices through a variety of creative opportunities.
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By Safa, Volunteer Coordinator
In language learning, writing is often viewed as a daunting, even dull, skill. Drawing on my own experience as a teacher from Gaza, I know how little attention it can receive in English classrooms.
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By Haya Oruq
Standing inside El-Jesuit Theater in Cairo as part of the Welcome to Gaza performance was a moment that felt both new and deeply familiar. It was not just another project for me — it was a return to something that has lived inside me for many years.
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As has become a regular delight for a few of us supporters of Hands Up project in Totnes, last Saturday morning we found ourselves again transported into the classrooms of the Hands up Project’s edcuational space in Cairo, now full of refugee children and young people from Gaza.
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By Dr. Sulaiman
Coordinator of Cairo Space, The Hands Up Project – Egypt
As the Coordinator of Cairo Space for The Hands Up Project in Egypt, I have the privilege of witnessing the impact that dedicated educators and humanitarians can have on our students every day.
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More than twenty years ago, when my kids were still very young, we got a visit from some old friends of mine from Denmark. They brought a memory game with them as a gift for my family. The game was called Hønsefræs (in Danish) and it became one of the most popular games in my family for many years.
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Hello, I'm Doaa, a basic education teacher at Hands Up Project in Cairo. I'll take you with me on a little journey to tell you about the most beautiful times and activities I spend with my wonderful students.
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By Duaa – Art Therapy Teacher , In a world burdened with difficult experiences, inclusion becomes a vital space for growth and recovery. Through our support sessions, we strive to provide a safe environment where every child feels heard, their feelings valued, and that they truly belong.
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Anyone who has been teaching a language for a long time is sure to have lots of staple activities which they keep coming back to because they know that they work. For me one of those activities is the dialogue notebook.
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We’re excited to tell you that we now have a trained music therapist from Gaza, Beker, working with our children in Cairo. This is Beker’s post about his first day at Cairo school.
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For more than 10 years now, The Hands Up Project has been inviting young Palestinians to present themselves through Zoom to other young people around the world, and to our team of volunteers in multiple countries.
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Sahar, who taught English to students at a UNRWA Centre before the outbreak of war teamed up with me and other fabulous TEFL teachers, Vanessa, Sonja, Donal and Liz to facilitate online classes for 13 -16 year old students in Gaza. These sessions started in April 2025 - during the height of the war in Gaza - when many of the students - and Sahar herself were displaced and unable to attend schools.
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