SK Logongon, a Rural School in Need of Educational Support

SK Logongon, located in the small district of Pagalungan, Nabawan, Sabah, is a rural school near the border with Kalimantan, Indonesia. Its remote location, far from urban centres, makes access to basic facilities and educational resources very limited.

To reach the school from Kota Kinabalu, it takes around 3 hours of land travel to Nabawan through hilly terrain, followed by an additional 2-hour journey to the small district of Pagalungan. Before 2026, the journey had to continue by boat along the river, taking around 40 to 50 minutes depending on water currents.

Although road access to Pagalungan is now available, some communities still rely on river routes as their main form of transportation.

Education Support by Islamic Relief Malaysia

On 19 June 2026, Islamic Relief Malaysia provided education assistance to SK Logongon, which included:

• 1 Smart TV unit for teaching and learning (PdP) purposes
• 1 printer for teachers’ use
• School supplies for 28 selected students, including:
  • School bags
  • Exercise books
  • Stationery

This support was made possible through funds raised under the Charity Week Programme of Islamic Relief Malaysia, with contributions from donors nationwide.

In addition, Islamic Relief Malaysia also used a newly donated rescue boat to deliver the items to this remote area.

Why This Support Is Important

Islamic Relief Malaysia staff member, Fathi Ridhwan Saidin, said the school requires continuous support due to its remote location and significant logistical challenges.

“Because the village is located deep in the interior, residents face difficulties in obtaining essential goods and basic food supplies. They have to incur high costs just to travel to town for necessities. That is why we chose this area as a support location to help ease the burden of the local community.”

This assistance is also important in supporting the national education policy, which encourages the use of technology in Teaching and Learning (PdP). The additional Smart TV helps strengthen learning processes in both the primary and secondary schools located within the same area.

Access Challenges and Rural Community Life

Previously, the journey to SK Logongon was not only long but also very challenging. The community had to go through:

• A hilly overland journey from Kota Kinabalu to Nabawan
• Additional travel to the Pagalungan area
• Boat travel across rivers depending on water currents
• At times, shallow river conditions requiring boats to be manually carried over rocky areas

Although road infrastructure has improved in 2026, rivers are still the main transportation route for some communities.

Boat Donation: Long-Term Community Impact

In addition to education assistance, Islamic Relief Malaysia previously donated a boat to the local community. The boat is now used for several important purposes, including:

• School transportation
• Funeral transport
• Transport for Friday prayers

Along with the boat, the following items were also provided:

• 50 life jackets
• Mooring ropes
• Canvas sheets

This boat has significantly improved mobility and safety for the rural community.

Previous Support in SK Logongon

Islamic Relief Malaysia has also implemented several interventions in this area, including:

• Cheer to School Programme – school supplies assistance
• Ramadan food pack distribution
• Community programme “Ziarah Pagalungan” – various activities and aid distribution

These continuous efforts reflect Islamic Relief Malaysia’s long-term commitment to empowering rural communities.

Ongoing Commitment of Islamic Relief Malaysia

Islamic Relief Malaysia will continue expanding education support to rural schools in Sabah and other areas facing educational access challenges.

The main focus is to ensure that every child has better access to education, in line with efforts to reduce the education gap between urban and rural areas.

Support This Effort

Every contribution helps open more educational opportunities for children in rural areas like SK Logongon. Donate now through the MySedekah campaign by Islamic Relief Malaysia

On World Refugee Day, we share the stories of 2 Sudanese women forced to leave the lives they had built when war arrived.

Every morning, Ikhlas wakes at 3:30am. She makes dough to bake into kisra (a thin fermented bread, which is a staple in Sudanese homes), then sells it, piece by piece, to families living in the same rows of tents she now calls home.

Just 2 years ago, Ikhlas had a government job in public health in El Fasher, a city in western Sudan. She would go door to door in her area, speaking to families about health, sharing advice, and helping connect people with support where she could. Ikhlas’s husband worked at the Ministry of Justice, while her children were in school and university. Life was not extravagant, but it was stable, and it was theirs.

Sari, who lives a few rows away from Ikhlas in the same displacement camp in the coastal city of Port Sudan, tells a version of the same story. A few years ago, she was an employee in the Ministry of Finance and her husband ran a successful trading business. Together, they were raising 7 children. “Before the war, alhamdulillah, we had a good life,” she says. “We had what we needed and more.”

This is the part of Sudan’s crisis that gets lost in the headlines and statistics. The over 9 million people displaced since April 2023 were not, for the most part, struggling to survive before war came to them. Many were teachers, civil servants, traders, nurses, and accountants. People with careers and savings and school fees already paid. People who had built something for themselves and their families, but the war did not distinguish. It took everything from everyone.

Abandoned homes, arduous journeys

Ikhlas left El Fasher on foot with her 85-year-old mother and 2 daughters after losing 4 family members in the early weeks of fighting. Her sister was killed along with her brother-in-law and their 2 daughters. A neighbour, a young man of 35, was shot outside her brother’s house. Ikhlas and her family walked and rode through desert checkpoints for nearly 2 weeks before reaching Port Sudan. She left her home unlocked with everything in its place.

Ikhlas left gold in the house. She left savings in an account she can no longer access. She left a government salary that is technically still accumulating somewhere she cannot reach. She left her 3 sons behind with their father because transport for the whole family was too expensive. Her husband, who has a disability, eventually made the journey alone on a cart. It took 12 days travelling through open terrain, and their sons joined them later in the IDP camp.

Sari’s journey was similarly gruelling, with checkpoints on the road creating uncertainty at every stage. “There are things I still cannot fully speak about,” she says. She arrived in Port Sudan 8 months ago with her children. Her husband, no longer able to run his business, now makes incense and sells it in the market. Life isn’t what it used to be but at least there is some income.

When everything you built collapses

Displacement strips workers like Sari, Ikhlas and their husbands of more than income. It robs them of the entire infrastructure their life depended on. Qualifications cannot be used here. Networks no longer function. Routines that kept families moving forward must be scrapped and rebuilt from scratch.

Sari has 6 children who should be in school but their path back to education is full of obstacles. Ikhlas’s daughter sat her Sudanese national exams as a displaced person, revising in a tent. Another daughter is trying to continue her university degree from the camp. One of their brothers has quietly set aside his own education to help his mother sell kisra in the mornings.

“These are not permanent decisions,” Ikhlas says. “They are what we have to do right now.”

Water makes everything possible

Water is something many around the world take for granted – essential for life but so everyday we barely register it. But in displacement camps across Sudan, getting clean, affordable water is one of the most exhausting and constant pressures families face. It impacts every facet of life, from what you can cook and if your children can bathe to whether someone who is sick can be cared for properly.

Both Ikhlas and Sari know this all too well. Before Islamic Relief installed water trucking at their camp, Sari was spending the equivalent of roughly five to seven thousand Sudanese pounds ($1.47 USD to $2 USD) a day on water, sometimes more on laundry days. With no regular income and a family of 7 to provide for, it amounted to more than $60 USD per a month on water alone. Ikhlas, who was buying individual cans of water at around 5 cents each, was spending a similar amount daily for a household of 6 or 7.

“Every meal, every wash, every glass of water had a price on it,” Sari says. “It wore you down.”

Islamic Relief’s project changed that, reducing what Sari and Ikhlas were spending to almost nothing, and freeing up money that could go towards food, medicine, or the other small daily needs that pile up when you are rebuilding your life from nothing.

But the impact was not only financial. Both women describe something harder to put a number on: the relief of not having to calculate every drop. The mental load of water insecurity – always needing to know how much you have, working out how to get more –  is something that does not show up in any report. It just lives with you, every hour of the day.

“Water is the foundation of life,” Sari says. “Once you have that, everything else becomes a little more possible.”

Home is still the plan

Neither Sari nor Ikhlas frames sees the camp when they look to the future. Both women think of home.

“I want El Fasher to be calm,” Ikhlas says. “I want to go back and finish the work I started. I want to see my children graduate.” “And [I want to perform] hajj. I have never been. I would like to go before it is too late.”

Sari sees the road back home more concretely: “Once there is peace and stability, everything follows. You go back to your job, your children go back to school. You resume. Maybe life comes back better than it was before.”

On World Refugee Day, Islamic Relief is calling on the international community to scale up support for Sudan’s displaced families and to remember that behind every number is a person who built a life and deserves the chance to do so again.

Please help Islamic Relief continue supporting people whose lives have been upended by the conflict in Sudan. Donate to our International Emergency Appeal today.

A powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on 16 June 2026, leaving thousands of people affected and causing widespread damage across several communities, particularly in Sigi District.

According to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, approximately 244 kilometres southeast of Palu. The quake was tectonic in origin and did not trigger a tsunami. However, strong shaking and hundreds of aftershocks have continued to impact affected communities.

Indonesia Earthquake 2026: One Dead, Dozens Injured and Thousands Affected

As of 18 June 2026, preliminary reports indicate that:

• 1 person has died
• 75 people were injured
• 5,774 people have been affected
• 1,360 houses were damaged
• 3 schools sustained damage
• 33 places of worship were affected
• 2 water system installations were damaged
• 8 public facilities were impacted

The figures are expected to change as assessments continue.

The most severely affected area is Sigi District, including Palolo Sub-district, which was previously impacted by the devastating 2018 earthquake and liquefaction disaster. The latest earthquake has reignited trauma and fear among local residents, many of whom are still reluctant to return to their homes.

Ongoing Aftershocks Increase Fear and Displacement

More than 119 aftershocks were reported within a single day following the earthquake, prompting many families to seek refuge in temporary shelters and makeshift tents near their homes.

One elderly resident reportedly died from a heart attack during the earthquake. Meanwhile, injured survivors have been evacuated to nearby hospitals as local health facilities struggle to cope with the scale of the emergency.

Safe Water and Electricity Remain Critical Needs

Access to clean and safe drinking water has emerged as one of the most urgent challenges.

The earthquake triggered landslides in the Nokilalaki mountain area, damaging water pipelines that supply surrounding communities. As a result, many families are now dependent on externally supplied water.

The situation has been further compounded by a prolonged power outage across affected areas. Limited lighting and reduced access to basic services continue to affect families staying in communal shelters and personal tents.

Local authorities have declared a 14-day emergency response period, effective from 16 June 2026, to support ongoing relief efforts.

Islamic Relief Provides Immediate Humanitarian Assistance

Islamic Relief teams were deployed immediately following the earthquake to support emergency response efforts in Central Sulawesi.

By the first evening of the response, the Emergency Response Team successfully distributed:

• 7 water tanks with a capacity of 1,050 litres each
• 100 boxes of bottled drinking water

A generator is also being prepared for delivery to support electricity needs at evacuation centres.

Islamic Relief has allocated funds to provide emergency assistance for approximately 170 affected households. Additional support is being mobilised through ongoing fundraising efforts to reach up to 1,000 vulnerable families.

Food, Shelter and Hygiene Support Planned

Over the coming days, Islamic Relief plans to distribute essential humanitarian aid, including:

• Food packages containing rice, cooking oil, eggs, sugar and other basic items
• Tarpaulins for temporary shelter
• Hygiene kits with essential personal care items
• Blankets for affected families

Islamic Relief is also exploring the establishment of communal kitchens, drawing on successful experience from previous disaster responses in Aceh, to provide cooked meals for vulnerable survivors while ensuring food safety and hygiene standards.

Supporting Communities Through Recovery

While no waterborne disease outbreaks have been reported so far, humanitarian agencies remain concerned about the potential health risks associated with ongoing water shortages and poor living conditions.

As communities in Central Sulawesi continue to face uncertainty, Islamic Relief remains committed to providing life-saving assistance and supporting affected families throughout the emergency response and recovery period.

Learn more about our International Emergency Appeal here and support families in need.

The ongoing Middle East crisis and disruption to global supply chains is causing the most expensive Eid al Adha ever, increasing hunger and impeding aid delivery in some of the world’s poorest countries, Islamic Relief says.  

In Sudan, the cost of delivering Islamic Relief’s annual qurbani food distributions has increased by over 60%, the price of bread has doubled, and fuel prices have almost tripled over the last three months.   

As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid al Adha next week, Islamic Relief is undertaking qurbani (sacrifice) distributions, providing meat to vulnerable families. For many it is the only meat they will get to eat this month and vital to stave off malnutrition. In 2025 Islamic Relief distributed qurbani to 3.2 million people in 29 countries.    

In Sudan, where three years of war has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis, Islamic Relief is distributing canned qurbani meat to displaced families and initially planned to reach more than 92,500 people. However, the rapidly rising costs mean the number of people or quantity of meat per family may now have to be significantly reduced unless funding increases.   

Shihab Mohamed Ali, Islamic Relief’s senior programme manager in Sudan, says: 

“The war in the Middle East is increasing people’s suffering here in Sudan as it’s cutting off trade and imports. For many vulnerable families this is the most expensive Eid they have experienced and people are worrying about how they will feed their children.   

“A few months ago we could buy six pieces of bread with 1,000 Sudanese pounds, but now you can only buy three. Fuel prices have risen by 182%, which automatically increases the price of other commodities. The price of distributing qurbani has rocketed from $5 per can to $8. Local food production is hampered as well, as fertilisers, seeds and agricultural inputs are getting scarce in the markets. The impact is affecting people all over Sudan but it’s worst in regions like Kordofan and Darfur where there is heavy fighting and highest levels of malnutrition.      

“The rising costs and funding shortfalls mean we may have to reduce the number of people we can reach or the quantity of meat that each family receives.”  

Rising prices and rapidly fluctuating exchange rates mean that vendors Islamic Relief usually works with to secure supplies in Sudan are declining to sign contracts.  

New fighting in Darfur and Kordofan is forcing hundreds of thousands of people towards the capital Khartoum and other safe and stable states, with displaced families turning to community kitchens for support. But the kitchens such as those in Khartoum are having to turn people away as they do not have the funds to buy increasingly expensive supplies. Community kitchens which have been a lifeline for people in Sudan are closing at a rate of over 40% in the last six months.  

Islamic Relief teams are seeing similar challenges in other countries affected by severe hunger crises. In parts of Somalia, where drought has pushed many families towards starvation, the cost of fuel has more than doubled from about $0.60 per litre to $1.50, increasing the cost of food and hampering aid delivery. In Lebanon, where ongoing attacks have displaced entire communities, a fuel tank of 20 litres has jumped from $19 to $27, pushing up other prices and the cost of essential services.   

Islamic Relief continues to call for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis in the Middle East and urgent steps to ensure that humanitarian aid and vital supplies of fuel, food, medicine and other essential items are allowed to flow unimpeded.  

 

Notes  

 

• Qurbani means sacrifice. During the Islamic month of Dhul Hijjah, Muslims around the world sacrifice an animal – a goat, sheep, cow or camel – to reflect Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail (AS) for the sake of God. After the animal has been sacrificed, its meat is then distributed to people in need, enabling them to have a nutritious meal for Eid al Adha.    

• In Sudan, Islamic Relief’s qurbani distributions normally provide either live bulls or canned meat at Qurbani during Eid Aladha with a family of five people usually receiving 10 cans of 450 grams each.  

Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-based humanitarian and development organisation, supporting vulnerable communities affected by poverty, conflict and disasters. Founded in 1984, it has grown into one of the largest Muslim humanitarian organisations, last year helping over 14.5 million people in 39 countries

Olive trees and their fruit are central not only to the everyday lives of Palestinians, but also as a symbol of Palestinian resistance and resilience.

Here, we break down the significance of the olive tree to Palestinians.

A deeply rooted history

Olive trees are among the oldest cultivated trees on Earth. With an average lifespan of some 300-600 years, the trees can support families and communities for generations.

Some olive trees have been reported as living for thousands of years, with the world’s oldest believed to be between 2,000 and 4,000 years old.

The long lives of olive trees reflect the history of Palestinian communities on their land, where the trees have been a constant amid hundreds of years of political change and upheaval.

The presence of the trees also challenges the idea that Palestine was ‘a land without people’, as claimed by settler movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

An economic lifeline

Olives are the primary or secondary source of income for some 80,000-100,000 Palestinian families. Before October 2023, they accounted for 70% of fruit production in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Most of the annual olive harvest (93%) is used to produce olive oil, while the rest is used for soap, table olives and pickled olives.

Most of the OPT’s olive products are consumed locally, but exports to the region and internationally are increasingly common.

A cultural emblem

Harvest season, traditionally October-November, has long been a time for families to come together and pick olives from their trees, often singing and sharing stories while they work. Universities and schools even give students time off for the harvest.

Most of the olives are pressed for oil, which is used in cooking – from making zaatar to stews and pastries – but olives are also present in some medicines and cosmetics, as well as soap.

Some olive oil even serves a religious purpose, with Muslims and Christians considering it a blessed or symbolic substance and using it in their rites.

Beyond seeing olive trees solely as a source of income, many Palestinians have a strong emotional connection to their trees, which they care for over years and decades, almost as they would a family member.

Olive trees and their fruit feature prominently in art from the OPT, with many painters and poets such as Mahmoud Darwish and Tawfiq Zayyad drawing on their powerful symbolism.

Olive trees and Gaza

Olive trees have been yet another casualty of Israel’s devastating bombardment of Gaza. As cultivated land has been destroyed by military attacks, many families have been forced to take an axe to their own trees for firewood amid crippling fuel shortages.

In a November 2024 blog, written to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, an Islamic Relief aid worker recounted this experience:

“I cannot forget that olive trees provided us with wood and leaves to burn for heat and cooking when there was no fuel. We keep taking, and they keep giving. Even their extended branches sheltered us when there was no shelter.”

Forced to flee to a nearby country where they are now safe with their family, but longing for home and peace, our colleague wrote:

“I wish I’d had the chance to hug my own trees goodbye. It’s a feeling so many of us share… We have a profound bond with these trees and the land they grow on. They are an integral part of our heritage, food and even our proverbs – a heritage accumulated through centuries of connection. As the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said, ‘Here we remain, as long as thyme and olives remain.’

“The olive trees and the people bonded to them can only live and thrive on this land, just as other types of trees flourish where they too belong.”

A symbol of resistance

Olive trees are drought-resistant and can grow even in poor soil conditions. These characteristics have made the trees symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land.

Beyond symbolism, olive trees play a material role in the resistance of Palestinians to illegal occupation and land seizures. Planting and cultivating these trees are acts of defiance amid occupation, while the presence of the trees makes it more difficult to claim land is uninhabited or unused.

However, many farmers have been cut off from their trees, with access to land hugely restricted by Israeli controls. An inconsistently implemented permit system severely hampers farmers’ ability to cultivate their trees. Permits are granted to individuals, meaning families can often not work together to care for their trees – resulting in smaller harvests. Farmers must also often pass through checkpoints to reach their land. These checkpoints are only open at certain times of day, which restricts the time farmers can spend working their land and so also limits the harvest.

While olive trees can survive without constant cultivation, meaning they can still be a valuable source of income for families despite the hefty access challenges, the impact of separating farmers from their land and trees is significant.

Olive trees under attack

Sadly, olive trees – and the farmers who cultivate them – have become a target for attacks, particularly just before and during harvest season.

This is especially the case in the West Bank, where trees have been uprooted, burned and hacked apart by settlers. In 2025, United Nations agency OCHA reported the highest level of damage due to settler attacks since 2020, with over 4,000 trees attacked in 126 incidents recorded across 70 towns and villages.

Such attacks have been condemned by international non-governmental organisations, as well as some Jewish groups, who point out that the Torah prohibits the destruction of trees, including during wartime.

The destruction of trees in conflict also violates the Geneva Convention, specifically Articles 54 and 55.

Local communities and civil society groups have taken steps to protect trees and farmers during harvest season, as well as to replace trees that have been destroyed, but OCHA figures suggest the problem is getting worse.

Islamic Relief is supporting Palestinians in need

Over the years, Islamic Relief has provided families with olive trees, which they can use to boost their income and improve their diet.

This work helps ensure Palestinians have enough food in the future, makes communities better able to handle challenge, protects the environment, and keeps cultural traditions alive

Providing olive trees is just one of the ways Islamic Relief is supporting Palestinians in desperate need.

Find out more and donate to our Palestine Appeal here.

As the world marks the 78^th anniversary of Nakba Day, four humanitarian workers from Islamic Relief Palestine share what ‘home’ means to them.

A memory suspended between what once was but is no longer

For me, ‘home’ is no longer just walls and a roof. It has become a memory suspended between what once was but is no longer. Whenever I hear the word, small details rush to mind – details that once shaped my life; an apartment I finished with care and love a year before the war began, furnished with the most beautiful pieces, and warmth in every corner. There was my daughter’s room, decorated with Cinderella drawings, where she laughed and dreamed. There was my son’s room, with the Spider-Man designs, reflecting his innocence and passion. I didn’t have enough time to truly enjoy it all. It was as if time itself was rushing me towards loss.

On my last visit to the house after our 10^th displacement, I found it damaged – cracked walls, crooked doors, windows without any glass. Yet, it still held something unseen; a hidden warmth, memories and hope. That was when I realised that a home is not what a building’s walls contain, but what that place leaves within us. I tried to recreate that feeling in the places we were displaced to, but something was always missing. Nothing resembled the smell of home, the laughter of my children in its corners, or the greetings of neighbours that once began my day.

The news of our home’s complete destruction reached me on the morning of Eid al-Adha 2025, at 9 o’clock. ‘May God compensate you with blessings, your house is gone.’ The news struck like lightening, yet I didn’t feel the pain immediately. I simply said, “Alhamdulillah.” I was like a football player who doesn’t feel an injury until the wound cools.

My real pain began when I returned to my family – the news had already reached them, and I saw the tears in my wife and children’s eyes. Only then did I realise that I hadn’t just lost 4 walls, I had lost a part of my soul. The longing for every detail, even for the sounds of the neighbours, grew stronger. For me, returning home is no longer a question of returning to a place, but to an entire life… one I am still searching for everywhere.

Home is a feeling of being understood

When I think about home, I do not really see a place or a building. It is more of a feeling, like something settling inside me. Home is in the things like how the sunlight hits the same corner of the room every afternoon, the familiar creak of a door, or the smell of food drifting in before I’d even stepped into the kitchen – and stolen some from behind my mother’s back, just to taste it, before she’d yell at me, “lunch is ready, don’t fill your stomach!” Home is not just where I am, it is a place where I don’t have to think about who I am.

Most of the memories I hold onto are not big or dramatic, they are just little moments. I remember sitting around a table where no one cared that everyone was talking at once. I remember hearing laughter carry from one room to another. Even the silence felt different. It was comfortable, not empty. I remember evenings that stretched out long enough for stories to be told again and again but still feel worth listening to. On their own, those moments do not seem like much. But together, they form something solid.

I have also realised that home is not always tied to a place, sometimes home is people. Home is in the way someone says my name or how they just know my habits, likes and dislikes without asking. Home shows up in meals, nothing fancy, just familiar dishes. One bite of something I have eaten a hundred times can bring back so many memories. Even small traditions matter. They do not have to be big celebrations planned for weeks, just little things that quietly remind me that this is us and this is my home.

The last time I felt at home somewhere nothing big had happened. No emotional reunion, no significant moment. It was just easy – I slipped back into things without thinking. I did not feel like a guest, I did not feel like I had to explain myself. I felt understood, and this is what home comes down to for me, that feeling of being understood.

In the end, home is not really about walls or a specific place, home is about connection. It is about my family members and loved ones. Home is wherever I can be myself, and whomever I can be myself with, without having to explain. It is what I go back to in life, or even just in my mind, when I need to feel like myself again – feel safe again – with all my family members and loved ones gathered together. That is my home.

Home is a place that carries us as much as we carry it

When I hear the word ‘home’, the first things that come to mind are safety, peace and warmth. I imagine the house we worked so hard to turn into exactly what we’d once dreamt of.

It was a simple home, but it was full of us. It had only 3 rooms – a room for my wife and I, a room for our only daughter, and a large room that held the laughter and dreams of our 4 sons. Even the kitchen had a special spirit. It had been designed carefully by my wife and every corner carried her personal touch.

We used to visit our house every Friday while it was still being built, following every small detail step by step and waiting with excitement for it to be ready. Although it was bought through a bank loan over 85 months, what we felt was not the weight of debt, but the joy of a dream turning into reality.

The most beautiful days of our lives were spent in that home. Our children grew up there, in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood of southern Gaza. They made their first friends there and got involved with the nearby kindergartens, schools and playgrounds. We used to walk to the sea together, and it was as if even the road there formed part of our daily happiness. Life around us felt simple and close; our neighbours became like an extended family. We often gathered on our balcony, grilled meat and chicken, laughed and shared our lives – as if we’d never run out of time. Every corner of that house held a memory. We built it step by step, leaving a part of ourselves in every part of it.

But our happiness did not last. Our home was destroyed during a period of conflict, and we lost not only the building itself, but everything inside it: furniture, clothes, appliances, the children’s toys, books and schoolbooks. We lost so many memories at once. It was as if a part of our life suddenly went out.

Today, we live in a rented house, where we’re trying to recreate that feeling of ‘home’, but something always feels missing. I have come to understand that a true home is not just a place we live in, but something that carries us as much as we carry it.

Despite the pain, the memories remain warm in our hearts – a mixture of longing, sorrow, and hope. The house may no longer exist as it once was, but it still lives within us, and the dream it represents remains alive, as if we are waiting for the day we’ll rebuild it again – not only with stones, but with everything we lost.

Home is no longer a place, but an ache within us

When the word ‘home’ is spoken, I do not see a door or a stretch of wall. The picture that forms in my mind instead is something vividly alive, a scene woven from delicate details that the eye might overlook, yet the soul faithfully remembers. It is there that memory quietly recreates itself, time and again.

Home, in the truest sense, is not merely a space we inhabit. It is a small homeland where our dreams reside, where memories endure, untouched by the erosion of time. It is the first scent that greets me before I cross the threshold, the soft light filtering through a window I know by heart, the familiar voice that gently dissolves the estrangement of the passing days.

It is the one place where I owe no explanations, where I don’t need to justify what I feel. It is my mirror to life, in which I exist exactly as I am, without masks or defences. Within it, my memories gather in the simplest of forms – a fleeting laugh, a long conversation on a quiet night. Even a silence that soothes, rather than burdens. It is also where my journey into motherhood first began to take shape.

The beauty of home is that it is not confined to a place. Rather, it is a feeling that travels with us. Sometimes all it takes is a familiar taste to recall my children’s early years, or an old melody that carries me back to my youth, and, for a fleeting moment, I am home again. Yet, the longing persists. Some details cannot be recreated; the warmth of family, the order of things as they once were. Even the small, meaningful chaos we once lived within.

On 30 October, I left my home. I carried nothing but the Qur’an and a few belongings, leaving behind a lifetime suspended within its walls. Since that day, home is no longer a place. It has become an ache that dwells within us, wherever we go.

In the new place where war has forced me to live, I try to cultivate fragments of that feeling. I arrange my belongings with care. I hold tightly to tangible memories. I create small rituals to restore a sense of familiarity. Yet, there remains a part of home that cannot be carried with us, only longed for. And, if one day, dreams reclaim their place in reality, if I return to myself, to the home that once was, it will not merely be a journey from one place to another. It will be a return to a lighter self. A moment of pure belonging, where everything within me gently finds its balance again.

Home is where I began, and the refuge I return to whenever distance grows too heavy. It is a presence that does not vanish, even in absence – a place that lives deeply within me, as I have lived deeply within it. Memory overflows and so does the heart. From the fabric of our daily lives emerges the simple beauty of Palestinian musakhan. It was never just a meal; it was always a story of home and warmth. The scent of bread, the echo of our laughter, the taste of olive oil and olives all carry us back. They reopen the door to the home we all left behind. The rising smoke of onions and sumac feels like a guide, leading us back to moments of safety we once knew. Each bite becomes a memory. The dish becomes a small embrace, one we cling to, trying to conceal the ache of separation.

We tell ourselves that houses can be rebuilt, so long as the taste of home lives within us. But the truth remains: leaving home is unbearably painful. It fractures something deep within, and our hearts continue to carry that wound.

In the end, home transcends walls and geography. It becomes a state of warmth and belonging that lives within us. We may lose our houses and maps may be redrawn, but our true home remains, like a hidden secret within our hearts. And, perhaps, in a rare moment of truth, we come to realise that returning home was never about a place. It was always about finding a way back to ourselves.

These are the stories of Islamic Relief Palestine staff in their own words. Many of our colleagues, like the 4 above, have become displaced since October 2023, and are striving to support communities in need while also rebuilding their own lives. Please help them to continue being a lifeline to vulnerable people in Gaza. Donate to our Palestine Appeal today.

May 15 is Nakba Day, an annual day of commemoration that continues to hold additional meaning this year as Palestinians endure mass displacement, occupation and crippling hunger. Here, we look at the origins and significance of the day. 

What is Nakba Day?

Nakba Day is commemorated annually on May 15. It marks the beginning of the destruction of the Palestinian homeland, and the mass displacement in 1948 of the majority of the Palestinian population. 

Nakba means ‘catastrophe’ in Arabic and is the word used by Palestinians and others to refer to this historic moment. For some, the term is also used to describe the subsequent and ongoing persecution of Palestinians and their loss of territory.   

In 1998, Nakba Day was officially inaugurated by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, though the date had been marked since 1949. Since 2023 it has been formally commemorated at the UN General Assembly.

What happened in May 1948?

May 1948 saw the start of a mass displacement in which over 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes.  

Over the course of the 1948 Palestine War, which lasted until January 1949, Israeli forces destroyed more than 530 Palestinian villages and carried out several massacres, killing some 15,000 people, according to researcher Salman Abu Sitta.

78% of Palestine’s historic territory was captured and used to establish what is now Israel. The remaining land was divided into today’s Occupied Palestinian Territory – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. 

Following Israeli victory in the war, abandoned homes were given to new settlers. The descendants of many of the Palestinians who fled in 1948 remain displaced to this day, both within Palestine and around the world. There are now more than 6 million Palestine refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations (UN).

What led up to the Nakba?

From 1920 until May 1948, the United Kingdom ruled over a territory called Mandatory Palestine under an agreement by the League of Nations – a precursor to the UN. 

Following the end of World War II and the horror of the Holocaust, the British announced their intention to end the mandate, and the newly created UN began seeking to redraw the boundaries of Palestine to allow for the creation of a Jewish state.  

None of the various partition plans suggested received support from the Palestinians or The Arab League (a body established after World War II to foster political, economic and social ties between Arab nations in the Middle East and North Africa). However, when the mandate ended, the establishment of the state of Israel was declared, triggering the 1948 Palestine War, also known as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. 

What happened after the Nakba?

In the 78 years since the Nakba, the Israeli state has continued to encroach into Palestinian territory, displacing families and violating international law in the process.  

Among the major instances of this was the Six Day War of 1967, which saw Israeli forces occupy all of historic Palestine, including Gaza and the West Bank, expelling 300,000 people from their homes. 

In the decades since, tensions in the region have remained high, with frequent flare ups. However, the scale of the escalation that began in October 2023 is truly unprecedented. In Gaza over 72,700 people have been killed; and many more forced from their homes, often repeatedly. Among the displaced are Palestinians who moved to Gaza from elsewhere in Palestine after the Nakba, and their descendants.

What are the long-term consequences of the Nakba?

The Nakba resulted in the world’s longest running unresolved refugee crisis, with over 6 million Palestine refugees worldwide at present. Most live in neighbouring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In some cases, Palestinian refugees in the Middle East have endured war and further displacement in their host countries.  

The enormous loss of territory which began with the Nakba continues to affect the everyday lives of Palestinians. Many valuable resources are in land now claimed by Israel, preventing Palestinians from accessing them and potentially growing their economy. 

The Israeli occupation, which has been ruled illegal under international law, affects every aspect of Palestinians’ lives. It denies their basic human rights, undermines their dignity and entrenches poverty. It restricts movement, trade and access to water, services, farmland, markets and religious sites. It cuts Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank off from each other, separating families and friends.

Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since 2007. The blockade restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of the Strip, devastating the economy and people’s futures and disrupting humanitarian efforts. For years, thousands of essential items have been restricted from entering Gaza because Israel considers them to have a ‘dual use’, meaning items could potentially be used for both civilian and military purposes. In practice, this can include almost anything that people need. Items including fuel, water filters, solar pumps and surgical scissors have been refused entry.

Since October 2023 Israel has tightened the blockade even further, restricting food, medicine, fuel and other vital items from entering. Following the November 2025 ceasefire agreement, some aid and commercial supplies are allowed to enter but nowhere near enough to meet the huge needs.

How is Nakba Day commemorated?

For many, Nakba Day is an opportunity to draw attention to the historic persecution of Palestinians and their expulsion from their land, and highlight that it is still very much ongoing, particularly now, amid the unprecedented crisis.

Nakba Day is also a time to celebrate Palestine’s rich culture and history outside of a narrative of suffering, which for many defines the territory and its people. Palestinians are not only resilient, they are talented writers and dancers, gifted embroiderers, leading academics and scientists, and generous hosts.  

In 2023, for the first time in history, the United Nations marked Nakba Day. The global body held an event to ‘serve as a reminder of the historic injustice suffered by the Palestinian people,’ as well as to highlight the ongoing refugee crisis. The event included speeches, music, photos and personal testimonies. 

Why is Islamic Relief talking about Nakba Day?

Islamic Relief has been working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1997, supporting Palestinians in need through emergency response efforts and development programming. Despite immense challenges, throughout the current crisis we have delivered lifesaving aid including water supplies, hygiene kits, psychosocial support for children and millions of hot meals.

We are also providing healthcare to expectant mothers and their newborns, running education activities for children living in displacement camps, and expanding our orphan sponsorship programme

This support is a lifeline for thousands of families in a time of desperate need.

Many of our staff and local partners have become displaced since October 2023 and are facing the same challenges as the communities we support. Our office in Gaza is among the almost 900,000 buildings destroyed or damaged by Israel’s bombing campaign. 

On Nakba Day we commemorate the ongoing suffering and injustice facing the Palestinian people, and their continued expulsion from their land. Their suffering is not consigned to the history books: it is a deepening and devastating humanitarian crisis unfolding before the eyes of the world. More than 6 months since the ceasefire announcement, Israel continues to block humanitarian aid and Palestinians continue to suffer daily attacks, severe humanitarian deprivation, and mass displacement.  

We are calling on international governments to protect Palestinians’ right to stay on their land and live in safety and dignity. World leaders must demand full adherence to the ceasefire agreement, an end to the Israeli occupation, protection of civilians and full unimpeded humanitarian access.

This is the present-day reality for everyone in Gaza, but whether it remains their future too depends on the decisions made by world leaders and international bodies today.   

Please help Islamic Relief to continue supporting families in desperate need in Gaza. Donate to Palestine Appeal now.  

BEIRUT, 28 April 2026 — Lebanon continues to face a worsening humanitarian situation as displacement remains widespread and essential services struggle to keep pace with growing needs across the country.

Despite limited return movements recorded since mid-April, displacement remains prolonged and unstable. Many families are unable to return home permanently and instead make short visits before being displaced again due to insecurity, lack of basic services, and continued safety concerns.

An estimated 1.2–1.3 million people (around 20% of the population) remain displaced nationwide. As of 23 April, approximately 121,225 people are residing in 642 collective shelters. While this reflects some fluctuations in displacement patterns, shelter conditions remain critical, with 630–660 shelters still operational and many exceeding capacity, particularly in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the South, and Bekaa.

The humanitarian impact of the crisis continues to escalate. Since early March, more than 2,489 fatalities and 7,719 injuries have been reported. In addition, over 147 attacks on healthcare facilities have been recorded, resulting in casualties among healthcare workers. The health system has also been severely affected, with six hospitals closed, 15 damaged, and more than 55 primary healthcare centres (PHCCs) partially or fully non-functional.

Widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure has further deepened the crisis, with an estimated 37,674 housing units destroyed, leaving thousands of families without adequate shelter.

Humanitarian response efforts continue across affected areas; however, operations remain severely constrained. Access restrictions, fuel shortages, and funding gaps are significantly limiting the scale and speed of assistance delivery, hindering efforts to reach all those in need.

Despite these challenges, Islamic Relief continues to provide life-saving assistance to affected communities. To date, the organisation has supported emergency response efforts including the distribution of 500 food parcels, 3,238 ready-to-eat meals, 1,040 hot meals, 1,314 hygiene kits, 200 blankets, and over 9,000 gallons of clean water to displaced families.

These interventions aim to meet urgent basic needs such as food, water, shelter support, and hygiene, particularly for families in collective shelters and hard-to-reach areas.

Humanitarian organisations, including Islamic Relief, continue to call for urgent and sustained international support to address escalating needs and ensure affected families receive timely assistance, protection, and dignity.

Sana Basim, Head of Programmes for Islamic Relief Lebanon looks back on the country’s ‘Black Wednesday’ – the deadliest day of bombing in many years.

Lebanon carries many dates etched into its memory, days of loss, pain, and survival. But 8 April will remain one of the ugliest scars, a date marked by inhumanity, injustice, and brutal violence that cannot be forgotten.

Despite the 2024 ceasefire, Israeli violations never truly ceased. Attacks on southern Lebanon continued, relentless and normalised. Then came the escalation following the US‑Israel‑Iran war, triggering mass displacement across the country. Nearly 20% of Lebanon’s population was forced from their homes. Once again, civilians paid the highest price.

Islamic Relief Lebanon has been among the frontline responders, working tirelessly to support conflict‑affected communities. In the days following this deadliest hour, I spoke with several displaced people. What struck me most was not their words but their silence. They didn’t know what to say. Yet one fear, unspoken but unavoidable, was written clearly on their faces:

Are we going to become another Gaza?

Will the world let that happen to us, the way it let it happen to Palestinians in Gaza?

Their silence was deafening. So were the questions in their eyes.

As a humanitarian worker, someone who speaks about humanitarian principles, international humanitarian law, and justice, I found myself utterly speechless. In moments like this, those concepts felt hollow. For the people of Lebanon, they had become words on paper, stripped of meaning, value, and protection.

A day like any other

April 8 began like any other day of crisis. My team was distributing water in one of the shelters in Beirut, while I was preparing situation reports and drafting emergency response plans. Since the war began, Islamic Relief Lebanon has been operating in a hybrid modality: staff living outside Beirut working remotely or coming in when needed, while Beirut‑based staff continued to report to the office. That Wednesday was no different.

Then I heard a loud sound.

At first, I thought it was Israeli jets breaking the sound barrier, something they often do, which terrorises the population. But then came another blast. And another.

We gathered in one room where we could see thick grey smoke rising into the sky. Panic set in. Phones started ringing with non-stop calls, messages, alerts. Shock, fear, disbelief filled the space. HR immediately launched a headcount poll on our staff WhatsApp group to make sure everyone was safe. The security focal point rushed to contact the distribution team.

One of the airstrikes had landed just 3 kilometres away from Islamic Relief distributions but all staff remained safe.

The team reported chaos at the shelter. Children were crying and screaming. The sound of the strikes was overwhelming. Smoke filled the air. The smell of explosives was strong and suffocating. Fear was everywhere.

Soon after, videos began flooding our phones. They felt unreal like scenes from a movie, except this was real life. Bombs dropping everywhere. People crying and running. Ambulance sirens cutting through the air. People honking on the roads as panic spread. Many abandoned their cars in the middle of the street and ran, desperate to escape.

Within minutes, Beirut, the city of life, movement, and resilience—turned into a horror scene.

Later, media reported that over 100 airstrikes were carried out in just 10 minutes, without any prior warning. Residential and commercial buildings were hit. People went missing. More than 300 casualties were reported, with hundreds more injured.

That hour changed everything.

And for many, survival itself became an act of resistance.

A fragile, temporary, peace

Last night, a 10-day ceasefire was announced – a welcome piece of news but one which is being met with some scepticism in Lebanon.

The agreement applies only to the part of the country lying north of the Litani river and, more worryingly, only to air-based attacks and not Israel’s ground invasion.

People remain fearful that fighting will break out again after the 10-day pause, if it even lasts that long.

Islamic Relief hopes the ceasefire holds and urges international government with leverage and all parties involved to ensure that it is fully respected.

Islamic Relief is working to support vulnerable communities in Lebanon throughout this crisis. Please help us to continue this life-saving work. Donate to our International Emergency Appeal today.

MALAWI, 1 April 2026 – Continuous heavy rains between 15 and 19 March have since triggered widespread flooding across multiple districts, with Chikwawa District among the hardest hit.

In Chikwawa, rising water levels in the Shire and Mwanza rivers have led to loss of lives, displacement of families, destruction of homes, and disruption of key access routes. The Chikwawa–Nsanje road at Bereu Trading Centre remains impassable, further limiting humanitarian access to affected communities.

Urgent needs on the ground include temporary shelter such as tarpaulins, tents, and plastic sheets, as well as food assistance including maize flour, beans, cooking oil, salt, and sugar.

Affected families also require essential non-food items such as kitchen utensils, blankets, mosquito nets, soap, chlorine, and emergency latrines. Support for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), particularly through sanitation assistance and water treatment, is also critical.

Response efforts by Islamic Relief are ongoing. The Emergency Response Team is conducting further needs assessments in collaboration with the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS), while also participating in inter-agency assessments led by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) and UN partners.

Activities include physical verification of affected households, continuous monitoring of the evolving situation, and planning for potential food and non-food item distributions.

As the situation continues to develop, coordinated humanitarian action remains crucial to support affected families and ensure timely assistance reaches those in need.