In photos: Most marginalised children across the world Gaza

Athar, 21, a beneficiary of Al Fakhoora, a programme of the Education Above All Foundation, was the youngest member to join the writers’ association, aged 14. She stressed the importance of explaining what is happening to the Palestinian people. Five years ago the conflict changed her life forever. She said: “The house was full of our relatives, suddenly everything went dark. I tried to get out of the house, I felt a pain in my leg and there was so much blood. I lost consciousness and woke in the ambulance. Hospitals ran out of anaesthetic so doctors stitched injuries I sustained without it, it was incredibly painful. I heard the news that my father was killed. Losing him was incredibly difficult for me as we were so close.” As a child, Athar had dreamt of becoming a writer or a poet. She said: “My father was my inspiration, encouraging me to write, since his death I have struggled to write anything. For me education is like food or fuel, an energy that gives me power to keep going.”

Paddy Dowling/EAA