Supporting Gaza's Most Vulnerable Children: The NOOR Orphan Care Programme
At The Justice Company, our work is rooted in a belief that human rights, dignity and opportunity should not be abstract principles. Alongside the development of transparent, rules-based methodologies designed to help investors avoid companies materially involved in genocide, war crimes and other serious human rights violations, we are equally committed to supporting the people whose lives have been shaped by those abuses.
That commitment is reflected in the work of The Justice Company Humanitarian Foundation. Through it, we are proud to support carefully selected charitable initiatives that help expand opportunity, strengthen resilience and improve outcomes for vulnerable individuals and communities around the world.
One such initiative is the NOOR Orphan Care Programme, delivered by Taawon (Welfare Association), a non-profit organisation registered in Geneva and operating across Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. It provides care and stability for children who have lost one or both parents during the conflict in Gaza.
The Scale of the Crisis
According to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, more than 58,000 Palestinian children lost one or both parents between October 2023 and October 2025.
The loss of a parent is devastating in any circumstances, but in Gaza, it is compounded by the near-total collapse of child protection infrastructure. With orphanages either destroyed, damaged or repurposed into shelters, virtually all children now rely on humanitarian assistance for survival. The formal systems that exist to protect children – social services, schools, healthcare facilities – can no longer serve their purpose. Meanwhile, the informal care structures in Palestinian society, such as extended families and community support, are displaced and struggling to meet their own most basic needs. Over 40% of families in Gaza are reportedly taking care of non-biological children, even as over 90% of residents have been displaced and over 80% of homes have been damaged or destroyed.
The result is a generation of children at risk of falling into a void where neither formal institutions nor family networks can care for them.
The NOOR Programme
Taawon's NOOR programme was designed to address this void, not simply as emergency relief, but as a framework for rebuilding systems around Gaza's orphaned children for the long term.
NOOR operates across five pillars: a unified child registry to ensure every child is visible; support for family-based care; comprehensive services integrating financial, educational, health, and psychosocial support; coordinated delivery across implementing partners; and sustainable financing to replace short-term, small-scale projects.
What the Programme achieved in 2025
In 2025, the programme supported 20,923 orphaned children across 7,513 families, including 239 children who became the sole survivors of their immediate family and 904 who lost both parents. Here are some of the life-changing services delivered across several dimensions of the programme:
110,000 food parcels were distributed to orphans, ensuring access to essential nutrition during the crisis
40,000 clothing kits were provided across two seasons, helping orphans meet their basic needs throughout the year
16,500 orphaned children received comprehensive medical check-ups, with identification of interventions for those requiring further care
1,508 orphaned children with disabilities or special needs received tailored support, alongside 31,000 rehabilitation sessions covering physiotherapy and occupational therapy
14,500 children received Psychological First Aid, with 13,000 counselling sessions – both group and individual – delivered to those experiencing trauma
3,000 children were reached through emergency education services, with lessons learned informing a scale-up in 2026
Launch of the NOOR Digital Platform, enabling real-time tracking of programme progress. This is an important step towards the coordinated, data-driven model that sustainable child protection in Gaza ultimately needs.
Investing in dignity and recovery
The NOOR programme is an extraordinary example of what determined civil society organisations can achieve in the most desperate of situations. Implemented by Taawon and 11 local partner organisations across Gaza, each subject to rigorous due diligence, the programme delivers measurable, life-saving impact while laying the groundwork for long-term recovery.
The Justice Company Humanitarian Foundation seeks to support initiatives that combine immediate humanitarian assistance with locally led solutions. Taawon’s NOOR programme exemplifies this approach and we are proud to support its work in ensuring that Gaza's orphaned children are not only seen, but given the care, stability and opportunity they deserve.