LIFE’s Digital Sponsorship Program Reached 1,015 Orphans Across the West Bank with Dignity and Choice

In the West Bank, raising a child without a parent often means navigating loss alongside constant economic pressure. Families caring for orphans face rising food prices, limited job opportunities, and growing education and healthcare costs, all under movement restrictions that make daily life unpredictable. According to the United Nations, more than one in four Palestinian household's experiences food insecurity, and children are among the most vulnerable when resources fall short. 

For orphaned children, the challenge is not only material but emotional. Guardians must stretch limited income to cover food, medicine, school supplies, and transportation, while children absorb the stress of instability. Traditional aid distributions can help, but they often come with stigma, inflexibility, or logistical risk, leaving families with little control over how support is used. 

To address these realities, Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) implemented a large-scale Orphan Sponsorship Distribution across the West Bank, reaching 1,015 orphaned children between September 28 and November 3, 2025. LIFE delivered sponsorship through a secure digital e-wallet card system, allowing guardians to receive funds directly and use them privately for their children’s most urgent needs. The program covered communities across Bethlehem, Hebron, Yatta, Nablus, Jenin, and surrounding areas, ensuring full geographic reach and inclusion. 

The digital system allowed families to purchase essentials such as food, medicine, clothing, and school supplies when and where they were needed most. LIFE conducted full guardian verification, mandatory orientation sessions, and follow-up support to ensure accountability, child protection, and safe use of the system. For families with mobility challenges, LIFE arranged home delivery of the e-wallet cards, ensuring no child was excluded. 

“For the first time, I don’t have to wait or stand in line,” said Amani, a mother caring for four orphaned children in Hebron. “I can buy what my children need when they need it. This system makes me feel capable and respected.” 

In the village of Zeef near Yatta, Shorouq Abu Tuhfah, a widowed mother of four, described the sponsorship as a lifeline. “It’s not only about money,” she said. “It’s about knowing that someone cares for my children, that we matter to our wider community.” 

By replacing public distributions with secure digital access, LIFE reduced risk, protected dignity, and strengthened families’ ability to make decisions for their children. The approach also reinforced trust with local authorities and set a new standard for transparency and accountability in orphan sponsorship programming. 

Through this initiative, LIFE helped ensure that orphaned children across the West Bank could remain fed, stay in school, and live with greater stability. The impact extends beyond a single distribution cycle, offering a model that safeguards childhood while honoring the strength of families who carry loss with resilience.