Reaching Gaza's children in crisis

As part of BBC Media Action’s Gaza Lifeline project, Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu is a powerful audio show for young school-aged children and their carers, providing child-focused educational entertainment and essential humanitarian information.

Since summer 2024, we have created around 80 15-minute episodes of Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu. Our first season aired in over 200 facilitated sessions in child-friendly spaces in Gaza, reaching over 25,000 children living through conflict and uncertainty; since then, episodes have aired across Palestinian towns and cities, with an emphasis on encouraging interactive play.

Zaza and Zuzu are a fictional brother and sister from Gaza - supportive and joyful voices, but thoughtfully grounded in children’s reality. Zaza and Zuzu provide educational guidance as they embark on a range of adventures, from making kites to singing children’s songs - all carefully designed to provide a moment of escape without retraumatising young listeners.

Feedback from the audio show has been overwhelmingly positive, with both children and carers enjoying and participating, allowing them to share their own experiences and fostering a sense of belonging and connection.

Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu is helping Palestinian children simply be children again – the importance of which was evidenced by their singing and play in Gazan communities even during wartime. This project has empowered a vulnerable and often overlooked audience through impactful and inclusive storytelling. The number of listening groups continues to expand and its reach and impact is growing.

We were thrilled that Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu: A Lifeline for Gaza's Children was named Outstanding Initiative for Underserved Audiences in the 2025 BBC News Awards. In May 2026, it was awarded Best Use of Audio in the WAN-IFRA Middle Eastern Digital Media Awards.

The WAN-IFRA jury said: “This is an excellent example of how journalism can connect meaningfully with listeners, and it is especially impactful because of the type of listeners it is reaching: children in Gaza. The episodes are impeccably recorded, with solid scripts, believable children’s voices, and carefully crafted soundscapes.”

Storytime with Zaza and Zuzu was developed with support from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and shared as part of UNRWA’s mental health and psychosocial support sessions for crisis-affected Palestinian children. It is currently funded by the EU through Expertise France and produced with support from UNRWA and Ma'an Network.