Gaza Great Minds has launched a Creative Writing Initiative for its students, offering structured sessions in narrative and reflective writing. GGM and author, Rana Shubair, worked together to bring this important initiative to our students. The program serves two purposes at once: it gives participants a disciplined outlet for expression, and it introduces a skill with real, practical value in an economy where traditional employment is largely inaccessible — the ability to write for an audience, and eventually, to write for income.
How the Program Works
Some sessions are built around focused writing prompts. In one recent session, the sixth in the series, students were asked to write about scent — not the smell itself, but what it holds: a memory, a person, a place that no longer exists. Another prompt asked participants to complete the sentence, “If I had a million dollars, I…” and respond honestly.
Prompts like these are not incidental. They train the same skills a working writer needs: specificity, honesty, and the ability to shape a personal experience into something a reader can connect with. That is a transferable skill, whether the writer stays in Gaza or shares their work with the world through platforms like Substack or Patreon.
Other sessions include other types of skills-building lessons. For example, in the third session, the focus was on the unsaid sentences — the ones that live in the silence between the lines and invite the reader to feel what isn’t explicitly written. That session also explored how to remove redundancy from writing; cutting away anything unnecessary so that what is genuine and meaningful can be heard more clearly.
In the fourth session, students learned how to use strong, active verbs to make writing more vivid and alive. They practiced choosing words which create clearer images and stronger emotions, helping readers experience the story rather than simply read it.
A Special Guest
Poet Kevin Hadduck, author of Beloved Brother, Beloved Sister: Poems for Palestine and publisher of Blue Heron Poetry on Substack, joined a recent session by video call. His participation gave students a direct line to a working poet already writing in solidarity with Palestine — proof that the audience for their words extends well beyond Gaza, and that the craft they are practicing has currency in the same spaces where established writers publish and build a readership.
What Students Are Taking From It
Participants have described the sessions as more than a writing exercise. One student, Nada, told the group what the course had meant to her: it gave her language for things she had only carried in silence, and it showed her that her story has value beyond her own experience of it. That is the intended outcome — not simply producing writing, but producing writers who understand their own voice has an audience.
Led From the Front
GGM founder Ahmad Riziq participates directly in the initiative as a teacher, not only as an administrator. He writes alongside the students and shares his own work in the same sessions he leads. His involvement reflects a broader principle at GGM: skills-building programs are taught by people who use those skills themselves, not delegated to the sidelines.
Writing as an Economic Skill
Employment options in Gaza are near impossible under current conditions. GGM’s Creative Writing Initiative is designed with that reality in mind. Beyond its value as expression and processing, the program is building a foundation for participants to eventually publish and monetize their own writing — through Substack, Patreon, and other platforms to reach a global audience.
This writing initiative matters for two reasons.
First, it gives Gazans a way to generate income that does not depend on physical infrastructure, freedom of movement, or a functioning local economy — a byline and an internet connection are enough to publish.
Second, it means the stories coming out of Gaza are increasingly being told directly by the people living them, rather than solely through intermediaries. This is crucially important for historical record as well as for the present moment we’re living in. The world needs to hear about Gaza from Gazans. The truth of what this chapter in our collective history was really like needs to be encouraged, supported, assisted, and shared the world over. It will be told throughout history. And it’ll be told by those voices who lived through it.
“We will read again and we will write again. They cannot erase us. We will write of Gaza. We will tell the stories of our homeland and our loved ones. We will describe the horrors; and we will describe the hope, the love, the humanity of our brothers and sisters who were with us there, if not physically, then in spirit.
For with you who stood beside us and behind us, with no special words except for your presence, your witness, and your sharing of our stories, your solidarity, your being there – you have made all the difference for us. Thank you.”
Support & Follow GGM
Programs like the Creative Writing Initiative are made possible by a global community that supports GGM’s work directly. Subscribe to our Substack. You can donate to GGM or become a supporting member through Patreon. Shop GGM’s Redbubble store, where proceeds fund education, safety, and meals for GGM’s students. Follow GGM’s work on X, Substack, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Medium, Threads, and LinkedIn. Crypto and additional giving options are available on GGM’s donate page.
-- written by Dede Bell
Gaza Great Minds is an educational and humanitarian nonprofit dedicated to amplifying the voices, stories, and achievements of the children from Gaza. “To ensure every child in Gaza has access to education and the chance to rebuild their lives, amidst the genocide & beyond.” We provide safe tent classrooms, and quality education to Gaza’s children affected by war. We also provide much-needed professional psychological support. To learn more or contribute, visit GGM at their website here.
Works Cited
Gaza Great Minds Foundation. Creative Writing Initiative post series. X (formerly Twitter), July 2026.
Gaza Great Minds Foundation. Substack.
Gaza Great Minds Foundation. Patreon.
Gaza Great Minds Foundation. Official Website.
Hadduck, Kevin. Beloved Brother, Beloved Sister: Poems for Palestine, Vol. I. Blue Heron Poetry.
Rana. Shubair, Rana. Palestinian author and writer.
