On 2 March, QUNO New York staff participated in the UNRWA-USA Gaza 5k, in solidarity with the children of Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and our AFSC colleagues in Gaza. Thanks to generous donations, the QUNO New York team raised $2,909, contributing to an impressive overall total of $2,017,416. All funds raised will go towards mental health counselling and psychosocial support services for children in Gaza.

As a direct consequence of Israel’s brutal siege, all of Gaza’s 1.2 million children are now in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Many of these children have lost their homes and loved ones, have witnessed unimaginable scenes of death and destruction, and are now facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and starvation. 

In a recent update, our AFSC colleague Serena Awad described how psychosocial support helps children “forget about the war for a bit.” “But at night, when the bombs come again, it sometimes feels like we have done nothing,” Awad said. “It’s like you heal them a little, and then you need to heal them again tomorrow.”

 While supporting all efforts to provide these essential mental health and psychosocial support services, QUNO New York and partner organizations remain focused on the overwhelming need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and unhindered humanitarian access in accordance with international humanitarian law. 

QUNO New York will continue to be a strong voice for peace at the UN, working in partnership with UN stakeholders towards a just and lasting peace.