Taalam School

Fundraising for Taalam school in Gaza

When war broke out in October 2023, children across Gaza stopped going to school. After returning from displacement, Asmaa Yosri Bekheet began teaching her own children and neighbours' children at home. What started as small groups of 3-4 students quickly grew as desperate parents sought education for their children.

The "school" began on October 16, 2024, on a simple piece of land — 6m by 12m with no roof, no walls, just the ground covered with donated mats and carpets from the families' homes. Students sat on flour sacks stitched together by hand. Wooden boards served as blackboards, and they used engineering paper from the director's husband's office as notebooks.

Despite these humble conditions, word spread quickly. In less than three months, over 1,000 students had joined. The Ministry of Education officially recognized the initiative, naming it "Learn West Nuseirat."

Growing Against All Odds

Today, the school serves over 1,200 students of all ages, from kindergarten through 12th grade, three times a week. It operates with 26 dedicated teachers who work voluntarily without pay, leaving their homes despite ongoing bombings to fulfill their mission of education.

The school has expanded into an unfinished two-story building that the teachers and families cleaned of dust and bombing debris, creating basic classrooms. Students take their high school exams here, with difficult and unreliable internet access — a critical service unavailable in most of Gaza.

With the school's initiative, students born in 2006 took the general secondary exam in September 2025, along with the Palestinian children in the West bank, according to the Ministry of Education plan. With a lot of difficulty, the school prepared a space with internet access for the exams to take place. However, no laptops or tables means passing the exams on smartphones sitting only on a chair in a half-destroyed building.

Urgent Needs

The teachers desperately need financial support as they volunteer their time without proper compensation. The students require educational materials, stationery, and basic necessities — many suffer from malnutrition due to the blockade.

The school urgently needs:

Tables, chairs, and proper blackboards
Electricity and rental fees for premises
Laptops, pens, stationery, and chalk
Bathrooms and basic facilities

Your Impact

Taalam school proves that education cannot be destroyed by war. But the school needs support. With your help, we can provide hope, stability, and a future for over 1,200 children who refuse to let conflict steal their dreams of learning.