During the war on Gaza in 2014, 2,251 Palestinians were killed; 1,462 of them are believed to be civilians, including 551 children and 299 women. Very few people were allowed into Jordan, through the Jordanian military hospital. A group of people met in the hospital that was receiving injured people from Gaza. A six-year old girl named Sama arrived with shrapnel in her skull. She spent around six months in the hospital and a group of friends Meira, Hiba and Khaled decided to support Sama during her stay. They spend time with her to help her heal and provided support to her father to make his stay easier. Unfortunately, Sama didn’t make it; she died that year.

After this terrible event they founded the organisation ‘Sama Gaza’ in her name. Sama Gaza is focused on supporting the Palestinian community wherever the organization is able to, but they are currently most present in the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan – more specifically in Jerash camp (also known as Gaza Camp). In this camp, more than 35,000 people - originally from Gaza and Bir Shiva - reside in an area of 1 square kilometer. Most of them fall under the "stateless" status. Sama Gaza is committed to improving the lives, minds and wellbeing of the Palestinian people. 

The biggest challenge for Sama Gaza is securing funds and resources to continue supporting the community members who benefit from the spaces. The organization would love to have enough resources to send out volunteers for training or provide them with incentives to support them to do their best to serve their community.

The organization is always looking to raise awareness about the conditions of the camp, aiming to bridge with those who could offer their support.

As mentioned in the blog about Jerash Camp, the main challenges of the refugee community lie within their status. As a stateless population they have limited access to services and rights. This keeps them in a loophole, making life more difficult and dreams almost impossible.