A New Chapter for Stay Human School

Over the last two years, you helped us build something remarkable: a school for over 200 children in Gaza, a place where kids could return to something resembling childhood, even amid everything they'd lost. Opened in October 2024 with 40 children and three teachers, the school grew to a team of around ten qualified staff and added Science to its curriculum of Arabic, English and Maths. A psychologist joined the team, and regular exams ran alongside therapy, play and parent workshops — with water and food relief when funds allowed.

But sustaining that on donations alone was becoming harder with every month. Keeping the school funded, let alone growing, required a level of fundraising we couldn't guarantee indefinitely. So we made a decision: to find a partner who could give this school the long-term stability it deserved.

We're now able to share some wonderful news: the school will continue its work with the support of doBetter e.V., a German charity founded in 2016 by Jacqueline Flory that already runs 90 schools across Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan, teaching more than 45,000 children. This means the school's future is more secure than we could have provided alone, and it will benefit from doBetter's experience and infrastructure supporting children in crisis.

As part of this transition, the school will be renamed the Olive Tree School — a name that speaks to resilience, roots, and growth, values at the very heart of what Abed, Aya, Ola and this community have built from nothing. Stay Human's Gazan team will continue to lead the school with doBetter's support; the Irish volunteer team will disband for now to focus on their other responsibilities.

The school will keep growing to take in more children. A new educational camp is being established, allowing the Olive Tree School to grow from 200 kids to 1,000. doBetter has also already opened a second school in Gaza, the Lemon Tree School, and a third school for Palestinian refugees in Cairo. The need remains enormous: children in Gaza have now missed nearly three years of school, and 97.5% of school buildings in the strip remain damaged. As doBetter's founder Jacqueline Flory put it: "Houses can be rebuilt, roads repaired. A childhood spent without school cannot."

That's why we're making one final push. We have raised €21,000 in the past months and hope to reach €45,000, to transfer a final amount toward an educational camp in Gaza that will serve as a permanent home for the Stay Human / Olive Tree School. We will provide the funding to establish the camp, which will serve 1,000 children, while doBetter will fund the daily operations. You can continue to donate to help us reach the goal via our Chuffed campaign until we permanently close it in October.

None of it would have been possible without you. Every cent donated has had a positive and meaningful impact on the community in Gaza. Through your donations to our Chuffed account as well as merch sales, concerts, pub quizzes, cycling across Europe, art and wine events, album sales and launches, cake sales, song releases, barber trims, runs, theatre performances, yoga and even a doggie fashion show, you have helped us raise the funds to pay teachers, rent classrooms, buy books and supplies, and create a space filled with colour, hope, and normality for children who have suffered so much.

We'd like to acknowledge the support from businesses like Arena Lynx Events, Hope Brewery, Solas Sodas, Eurav, The T-Shirt Company, Brezzi's, Contrabando and Lidl Portmarnock, Wild Owl Studios, Almost Home, Diesel Irl, Inchiostro Puro Stamperia and Spitball Management, and media including Totally Dublin, Hot Press, The Goo magazine, 8Radio, Dublin Digital Radio, Radio Croccante in Berlin and RTÉ Radio, which have all helped raise awareness. We are so grateful to the following venues: Whelan's, Vicar Street, The Abbey Tavern, Ernesto's, Workman's Club, Croí London, Sean O'Casey Theatre and Community Centre, Old Street Restaurant and Yoga Next Door, who provided spaces for our fundraisers. To the Irish circus acts who came together to provide entertainment for our students, you brought light and laughter through dark times. To everyone who shared a post, wore our merch, mentioned our name on stage, online and in conversation, or attended our events — you have contributed enormously to the success of the Stay Human community.

To our families and our friends — in particular Alice, Ben, Bernard, Bille, Brian, Damo, Dave, David, Dee, Denise, Gayle, Harry, Helen, Jonathan, Leah, Lou, Markus, Niall, Nicola, Sena, Stano, Syd, Tony, Zuzanna and the Vergnano family — each one of you who provided practical help, advice and motivation over the past few years has played a vital part in the success of the Stay Human initiative. We thank you with all our hearts.

This initiative has brought out the best in humanity when the world has been witnessing the worst atrocities. You have shown the power of ordinary people and what can be accomplished when communities support each other. We have all gained greater knowledge and understanding through the connection with the community in Gaza, and a deep love and respect for our team there, with whom we have forged a lifelong friendship.

Thank you, from all of us, for not looking away in the face of huge injustice.

See our full list of thank yous →

Abed, Aoife, Aya, Carmen, Emma, Giacomo, Moira, Ola
September 2026