Art and community come together to honour, memorialize and support
Palestinian children
Butterfly Souls of Palestine invites South Africans and everyone across the world, especially children, to create unique butterflies to memorialise each of the children (12 000 and counting) killed in Israel’s aggression on Gaza and the almost 100 children violently killed across the occupied Palestinian territories since 8 October 2023.
In leveraging the power of collective art, we highlight the magnitude and scale of the ongoing atrocities that continues to mercilessly kill and permanently maim children at an unprecedented rate. Death from disease and malnutrition will likely surpass numbers from bombardment as the lack of food, water, shelter and sanitation puts children’s lives at serious risk.
“Never Again!” South African Ubuntu is what is needed now
Death from disease and malnutrition will likely surpass numbers from bombardment as the lack of food, water, shelter and sanitation puts children’s lives at serious risk. We resonate with the global rage against this war, the plight of civilians, particularly the children of Gaza that continue to suffer and join the call for an immediate end to hostilities and for humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
Death from disease and malnutrition will likely surpass numbers from bombardment as the lack of food, water, shelter and sanitation puts children’s lives at serious risk. We resonate with the global rage against this war, the plight of civilians, particularly the children of Gaza that continue to suffer and join the call for an immediate end to hostilities and for humanitarian aid access to Gaza.
Butterfly Souls will champion a movement to grow support for Palestinian children.
Through partnerships we aim to bring the global community together, particularly the children to honour the resilience and spirit of all the young lives lost and to assist recovery and healing.
As the father of the SA nation, Nelson Mandela famously said “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
As the father of the SA nation, Nelson Mandela famously said “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others.”
Stand up for justice, condemn the genocide and champion the cause of lasting peace in Palestine.
MORE THAN 10 CHILDREN A DAY LOSE ONE OR MORE LIMBS IN THREE MONTHS OF BRUTALITY
Contribute towards funds to provide medical care and solidarity to support healing
Medical Solidarity with the Children of Gaza
Over 10,000 children have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, with thousands more missing, presumed buried under rubble.
That’s 1% of the entire child population gone in less than 100 days. Countless more have been injured, and those that survive the bombs are threatened by disease and starvation right now. Children are always the first to suffer in any conflict – and the stories continuing to come from Gaza are the stuff of nightmares.
More than 10 children per day, on average, have lost one or both of their legs in Gaza since the bombardment started. These children will face a lifetimes of pain management , mobility support and medical care will be needed for each of them.
There is urgent and desperate need for support and our focus will include two key areas:-
That’s 1% of the entire child population gone in less than 100 days. Countless more have been injured, and those that survive the bombs are threatened by disease and starvation right now. Children are always the first to suffer in any conflict – and the stories continuing to come from Gaza are the stuff of nightmares.
More than 10 children per day, on average, have lost one or both of their legs in Gaza since the bombardment started. These children will face a lifetimes of pain management , mobility support and medical care will be needed for each of them.
There is urgent and desperate need for support and our focus will include two key areas:-
Medical Solidarity with the
Children of Gaza
Gaza’s child amputees face further risks without medication and expert care
Gaza’s collapsed medical system is unable to give children the intricate follow-up care they need to salvage their still-growing, truncated bones. Poor hygiene and medicine shortages spell more complications over the healing process and further amputations on existing injuries, some of which may not be survivable. The antibiotics and painkillers to help amputees with chronic pain are desperately needed. Children with war-related amputations may require up to a dozen surgeries on the limb by the time they reach adulthood because the bone keeps growing.
We aim to assist children to become optimally mobile again and this will involve working with institutional partners and in consultation with medical and rehabilitative support teams in the supply of wheelchairs, prostheses, crutches and other assistive devices.
Gaza’s collapsed medical system is unable to give children the intricate follow-up care they need to salvage their still-growing, truncated bones. Poor hygiene and medicine shortages spell more complications over the healing process and further amputations on existing injuries, some of which may not be survivable. The antibiotics and painkillers to help amputees with chronic pain are desperately needed. Children with war-related amputations may require up to a dozen surgeries on the limb by the time they reach adulthood because the bone keeps growing.
We aim to assist children to become optimally mobile again and this will involve working with institutional partners and in consultation with medical and rehabilitative support teams in the supply of wheelchairs, prostheses, crutches and other assistive devices.
Supporting Hearing
Loss
Large numbers of children that have sustained damage to the auditory system from injuries to the head; mastoid bone, auditory nerve, perforation to the eardrum and damaged ossicles in the middle ear, now suffer profound hearing loss. We aim to support interventions to improve children’s ability to hear and facilitate communication – as appropriate, to provide hearing aids, cochlear implants and other support interventions.
