Ayla from Gaza - Age 3

Ayla is only three years old, yet her short life has already been marked by displacement, fear, and loss. Her family has been forced to move four times, each time hoping for safety that never lasts. In one of those bombings, the home where she kept all her favorite toys was destroyed. Her soft dolls, her tiny car, her little box of treasures—all buried under the rubble. There was no time to save anything. What once filled her days with laughter is now only a memory.

Now, Ayla cannot go to kindergarten. Her mother, Alaa, tries her best to keep life normal, but it’s a struggle that feels endless. There isn’t enough money to buy what children need—no crayons, no paints, not even a small notebook for drawing. Still, Ayla loves to draw. Her mother gives her scraps of paper so she can sketch with whatever she can find. One of her pictures shows a simple, powerful image: her family smiling together, holding hands, before the war changed everything.

That picture is more than just a drawing. It’s a memory, a dream, and a quiet act of hope. It shows that even in loss, Ayla still remembers happiness, love, and the safety of home. Her mother holds on to that picture as a reminder of what they are fighting to rebuild—a life where Ayla can draw freely again, surrounded by colours, laughter, and the warmth of family.

Ayla’s story is one among many, but it speaks for countless children whose childhoods have been interrupted by war. It reminds us that behind every headline are small hearts still learning how to dream, even when everything around them has been taken away.