Mrs. Najah's Kitchen - Gaza Emergency Meals

When the ground offensive was launched on Rafah, Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen was in a hotspot and had to be evacuated. Rebuilding Alliance assisted Mrs. Najah in evacuating, relocating, and reopening her kitchen again in the center of the Gaza Strip (area not disclosed for safety concerns). Mrs. Najah is once again feeding the displaced families in Gaza. Thank you for supporting her. 

“It is difficult to leave your home full of memories and move to a place where you do not have anything, do not know how to work and help others. I had to start life all over again. We’re  thankful for everything you always do for us,” said Mrs. Najah.

Rafeek, Rebuilding Alliance’s Manager for the hot meals program in Gaza told us on May 16th, “When the evacuation orders for Rafah came, Mrs. Najah was worried about where she would go as she had a large family, a proper professional kitchen, and her team. So, we promised her that we would arrange everything for her. Luckily, we found a place on rent that could accommodate the kitchen, stoves, her team, and her family. A truck was hired to move the kitchen set up, including large pots, stock of commodities, and the team. Mrs. Najah’s kitchen is all set up and will start cooking soon.”

“The situation in Rafah was scary. A huge number of people are now displaced. People who were taking refuge in Rafah were forced to move. One can see tents on both sides of the road. Tents are short and our teams are making tents with wooden beams and plastic tarps. The need is high, and we’re focusing on ramping up the number of meals," said Rafeek.

Mrs. Najah currently oversees 11 kitchens producing an average of 21,000  meals per day. Thank you for supporting Gaza families in their time of need.

Rebuilding Alliance’s staff writer, Lama spoke to Mrs. Najah on June 10th to see how she’s doing. 

“The day we had to evacuate was difficult. I couldn't believe we were leaving our home. The first thing I thought of was the family photos - I could only take a few. I also have some traditional embroidered shawls and clothes that are important to me because they represent my heritage. Most importantly, I had to ensure the safety of my sons, daughters, and their children. 

And of course, I was concerned about being able to continue working and providing meals. I made sure to bring my pots and ingredients so I could keep cooking, even if we were displaced. But by God's mercy, things became easier and I was able to start producing meals and distributing them to the displaced people once again.

I am currently supervising 11 kitchens, spread over different areas from Khan Younis to Al-Qarara and Deir al-Balah.

 We face numerous challenges. While it is difficult to access certain areas, we manage to overcome the obstacles. We collaborate with the warehouse to ensure that every kitchen receives the required materials. We also have to provide items not stocked in the warehouse, including fresh produce, spices, and cleaning supplies. I keep a constant check on the cooking teams and regularly evaluate their performance.

We are preparing Mujaddara, yellow lentils, green peas, white beans, and Uzi rice with vegetables such as potatoes and eggplant. Sometimes, we serve chicken and rice. Cooking is challenging without access to gas. We rely on firewood, which is purchased in large quantities at exorbitant prices.

Recently, I visited a camp where we distributed Uzi rice. A girl approached me and shared that she and her family really enjoyed the rice. Her words made me happy, knowing that the meal brought happiness to her family. During food distribution, I always make sure that the little ones are served first, so they don't go without food.

My motivation for work now and for the past 20 years is to serve my community. 

Despite the challenges, I remain committed to serving my community. I have been doing this for over 20 years. My job is to understand people's needs and try to meet them as much as possible. During the Covid pandemic, we delivered meals to people's homes. In this time of war, it's important to help and feed the displaced, starting with one pot and one kitchen. Today we have 11 kitchens and cook 40 pots. 

Even after the war ends, we must continue cooking. Things will not go back to normal right away. It would take years. People have lost everything and lack any resources and the need for food will remain. 

I want to help others while waiting for the war to end and for life to return to how it was. I long to live in peace and security, just like people all around the world.”

Before the Rafah Invasion

Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen was the first to provide meals to families taking shelter in UNRWA and their relatives’ homes when the war started. It served as a role model for Rebuilding Alliance’s other non-governmental organization partners in Gaza in setting up and running their kitchens. 

• As the number of displaced families increased, the Women's Program Center-Rafah (WPC-R), led by Mrs. Najah, opened another makeshift kitchen in the Tal el Sultan area and hired additional team members for cooking.
• After Rebuilding Alliance partnered with the World Food Programme in November 2023 for its hot meals program, WPC-R became one of the NGO partners serving hot meals to displaced families in Gaza.
• Because of this partnership, the cooking efforts could be significantly expanded by involving community-based cooking teams. 
• The World Food Programme provides food commodities such as rice, wheat flour, oil, lentils, chickpeas, etc in bulk. The cooking teams add meat and fresh vegetables purchased locally. 
• WPC-R opened additional kitchens to serve more people in various locations. The neighborhood-based kitchens provided meals to families in their local areas to prevent overcrowding and ensure the safety of the cooking teams and beneficiaries. 
• Some of these kitchens were only providing bread, while others were cooking nutritious meals. 
• Most kitchens are managed by women, including three teachers who were part of the afterschool program run by Rebuilding Alliance in Gaza.
• These cooking teams have been working hard to provide meals. Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen cooks 12,000-15,000 meals daily, while neighborhood kitchens cook 1000-2000 meals daily.
• During the month of Ramadan, all the kitchens ramped up hot meal production and served up to 40,000 hot meals a day.  
• Prior to the Rafah offensive, Mrs. Najah operated eight kitchens in and around Rafah.

“Displaced families are facing numerous challenges. They lack the means to purchase food due to the outrageous prices of food items. Perhaps God made us to do this job--we are meant to work with your assistance and extend a helping hand to those in need,” said Mrs. Najah.

On behalf of Mrs. Najah, her cooking teams, and the families we serve, we thank you for supporting this vital hot meals program. 

Links:

• An aid kitchen in Gaza is trying to stay afloat amidst growing..

Mrs. Najah and her team are cooking meals in this time of emergency so that families in two neighborhoods in Rafah, Gaza don't go hungry. 

• Mrs. Najah Kitchen started cooking as soon as the war started, asking families to pick up meals in hope of assuring everyone's safety
  
  
• Soon she also delivered to displaced families taking refuge in one UNRWA school ... as the bombing increased, the UNRWA school committee would organize pick-up and distribution
  
  
• Mrs. Najah’s team is cooking at full capacity in her professional kitchen at the Women Programs Center-Rafah, serving 200 families a day.
  
  
• Because of the enormous need, Mrs. Najah’s team expanded their efforts and opened a second makeshift kitchen in the Tal al Sultan area of the Gaza Strip to feed 200 more families/day.
  
  
• Since the war started, Mrs. Najah has provided 2000 meals.

On October 24th, Mrs Najah wrote,
"Alhamdoullah. It is very difficult. The last nigjt until now they do not stop. The death, everywhere. The blood smell is everywhere. We want to stop war —  enough please.
Sorry but it is my feeling, we are tired."

“We’ve seen hard times but never experienced anything like this [destruction]. I have to do this because these are my people.”  — Mrs. Najah

You may wonder how Mrs. Najah is managing when no provisions crossed into Gaza during the first 3 weeks of the war. At first, Mrs. Najah Kitchen was using propane gas purchased weeks before. That ran out and they switched to fire wood. Mrs. Najah asks her whole family to find wood (downed trees, broken furniture) to keep the ovens going.

• Mrs. Najah has a long-standing partnership with a chicken farm and with grocery stores.  and is able to source the supplies. The price of chicken went down when they could no longer ship to northern cities and when families ran out of fuel.
  
  
• At first, Mrs. Najah was buying from local farms and suppliers on credit and, as always, in full accordance with U.S. laws and rules. Rebuilding Alliance promised to repay the debt when the ceasefire comes and banks reopen.
  
  
• Good news:  RA is now able to transfer grant funds. We are paying bills as soon as reports and receipts are received.

Mrs. Najah sends her thanks to all the donors who donated and enabled her to feed all these displaced people. She hopes that the world will apply International Humanitarian Law on Gaza so families can live in peace. 

We hope that a ceasefire comes soon. 

Thanks again for your support. You make this work possible.   If you want to offer words of hope and concern, please add a note when next you donate and we'll pass that to Mrs. Najah and her team. Feel free to email your questions or suggestions to us at Contact@RebuildingAlliance.org — and if you would like to host a fundraiser in your home, we'll be happy to provide a speaker!

P.S.  Before the war started...

Thanks to your amazing support, Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen raised over $20,000 during the GlobalGiving July Bonus Day. In addition, another $20,000 matching grant was provided by an anonymous donor. Those funds arrived at the end of August, and Mrs. Najah’s Kitchen resumed operations in September. They served meals to 800 families per week for over a month.

Traditionally, families in Palestine cook a special meal on Friday. Due to poverty, thousands of families cannot afford much. When the team reached these families, they saw them preparing rice, potatoes, or tomatoes. Meat is a luxury they could never afford. Meals from Mrs. Najah's Kitchen mean a lot to them. 

Families were overjoyed to see the team. One elderly woman asked the team member, "Son, why did you take so long to visit? We missed these meals for months." Receiving meals on Friday doubled their happiness. 

Rebuilding Alliance's Development Leader Abu Munzur came from the U.S. and visited the Women Programs Center in September joined by Rebuilding Alliance's Site Engineer, Heba, who lives in Gaza (but now is in refuge in Rafah). He met the Mrs. Najah's Kitchen team as they prepared nutritious meals, then helped deliver to the families living in shacks on the outskirts of Rafah. He talked with the beneficiaries and listened to their challenges. Abu Munzur could see that these meals made all the difference to these struggling families.

Links:

• Emergency: Appeal from Mrs. Najah in Rafah, Gaza