Video journey: Al-Najd in Gaza

VIDEO ONE - The segment above was filmed in Gaza City in September, shortly after Al-Hamalawi was named winner of the 2025 Michael J. Sharp Global Peacemaker Award.

Early on, the interview is disrupted — but decidedly not ended — by an all-too-familiar sound. Her response? “Leave the sound of the bombing in the video. Leave it. They are also part of this interview.”

The next six short videos step back in time, looking at a year of devoted service in Gaza. You’ll join the Al-Najd team as they enter families’ tents and lives. Get a glimpse of the suffering people are experiencing — and the relief that families find through the help of courageous leaders like Al-Hamalawi.

VIDEO TWO - Hear a mother’s story as she receives clothing for her children through Al-Najd.

VIDEO THREE - A father shares how portable gas stoves make it safer to heat milk at night for his newborn son.

VIDEO FOUR - “They are a source of income. I sell from them during the time of famine, I benefit from them.” Al-Hamalawi visits a family who received rabbits in 2020 through an income-generation project of MCC and Al-Najd. They were able to keep some rabbits alive and continue to benefit from them.

VIDEO FIVE - An MCC shipment of food, handmade comforters and relief kits arrived to Al-Najd in Gaza on Jan. 20. “When I saw the blanket, I took it in my arms in disbelief,” a mother shares. “This blanket, it’s like a dream come true.” Read more about this moment of hope, and the aftermath, for this mother and her family.

VIDEO SIX - “We want to return home, to our own place, and start again, rebuilding our lives,” another woman shares. “Yes, there was war and destruction, but not like this. In our whole lives, we’ve never seen war and destruction like this.”  Read more.

VIDEO SEVEN - “We have been displaced nine times since the day the war started,” a mother from a family of eight shares. “We want the war to be done and return to our home. I mean everyone wants to go back to school, buy things, walk the streets, get their own things.”  Read more.