Communal ovens help Gaza families bake bread amid displacement and scarcity
In Gaza City, displaced families rely on a Red Cross-run communal oven at Cairo School to bake affordable bread for their children.
Azza Ashour, a 31-year-old mother of five, kneads dough at home and uses a communal oven at Cairo School, where her family has been sheltering for about a year. The oven, funded by the International Committee of the Red Cross, allows displaced residents to bake bread at no cost, relieving the expense of fuel and reducing daily food costs. Randa Adwan, a 38-year-old mother of seven, works shifts at the same oven, earning a daily wage that helps her support her children after her husband lost his shop.
Across Gaza, the ICRC runs 179 communal ovens that have produced millions of loaves, serving roughly 44,000 people since January. These ovens not only provide essential nutrition but also create limited employment opportunities for women in a context where unemployment exceeds 80 %.
Why it matters
The ovens provide vital food security and modest income for displaced Gaza families facing extreme poverty.
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