Building Hope in Gaza
About this Event
Since October 7, 2023, UNICEF reports that over 20,000 children in Gaza have been killed and at least 40,000 injured. With estimates that almost all schools in Gaza have sustained damage or been destroyed, over 600,000 children remained out of school as of early 2026. Some 800,000 children have been displaced from their homes, and in the first six months of this year, UNICEF treated just under 20,000 children for acute malnutrition. Child protection indicators, like those around child labor and psychosocial distress, are worsening amid these conditions.
What might support look like for children facing this devastating humanitarian situation?
In 2024, Palestinian American neurosurgeon David Hasan took it upon himself to try to answer this question after traveling to Gaza on one of the first international medical missions in the territory. He responded by founding the nonprofit Gaza Children's Village (GCV). Its flagship program, the Academy of Hope, provides education, meals, healthcare, and emotional support to thousands of orphaned and displaced children. GCV, in coordination with international partners, the Board of Peace, and with approval from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), is also setting up a mobile hospital to address the critical lack of pediatric care. GCV also runs a women's center, an "educational city," and is working to deliver fresh food aid.
Join Perry World House for a discussion with Dr. David Hasan, moderated by journalist Deborah Amos, who has reported from war zones for decades, to learn more about this initiative, what it has taken to build it amid ongoing strife, and what he believes needs to happen next.
Guest Speaker
Dr. David Hasan is a Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, and Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, where he has built an international reputation as a cerebrovascular scientist-surgeon, having treated more than 2,500 brain aneurysms and authored over 270 peer-reviewed publications. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024. Since founding the Gaza Children's Village, he has led its growth into a multi-site operation supported by figures like José Andrés' World Central Kitchen and donors from both Palestinian and Israeli communities, and he now oversees its expansion into pediatric medical care alongside education and psychosocial support.
Deborah Amos is a Ferris Professor of Journalism in Residence at Princeton University. A longtime international correspondent, Amos spent much of her award-winning career at National Public Radio. Her reporting on the Middle East and on refugees regularly aired in the U.S. on NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and All Things Considered. She recently covered the Syrian and Iraqi refugee crises, the economy in the Middle East, and the Arab youth surge. Previously she reported for ABC's Nightline and PBS's Frontline. Amos is the author of two books: Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East, and Lines in the Sand: Desert Storm and the Remaking of the Arab World. She has won several major journalism honors, including a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation, a George Foster Peabody Award, an Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award, and an Emmy.
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