After the ceasefire on January 19, 2025, hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans began their long journey home, walking from Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, Zawayda, and Nuseirat back to the north.
Drawing from past experiences of the many displacement waves and periods in the past 15 months, PCC recognized the urgent need to prevent children from becoming separated from their families.
The PCC received a large number of children’s' wristbands from UNICEF. These wristbands were given to the PCC team which reorganized itself for the next 3 days to put the bands on children’s' wrist in case they were separated from their parents or their guardians. On Al Rasheed street, our team of counselors and volunteers personally placed wristbands on children with their parents' or guardians’ phone numbers, ensuring they could be quickly reunited if separated during the long walk home.
This initiative provided a crucial layer of security and reassurance for families returning after 15 months of displacement and relentless assaults by Israeli forces. It was a small but vital step toward protecting children and easing parents’ fears as they embarked on this difficult journey back to what remained of their homes.