10-year-old shines a light on life in Gaza through cooking videos
CTV
On a small table outside a tent in Deir al-Balah, 10-year-old Renad is making 'Gaza-style white sauce pasta.' She fills a pot with bottled water and lights a small propane burner. She has a fresh onion and a green pepper, but uses canned mushrooms for the sauce.
On a small table outside a tent in Deir al-Balah, 10-year-old Renad is making "Gaza-style white sauce pasta." She fills a pot with bottled water and lights a small propane burner. She has a fresh onion and a green pepper, but uses canned mushrooms for the sauce.
"It’s hard to get ingredients, it’s very expensive," she tells CTV News. "And some of the ingredients you can’t find."
Renad has a passion for food and is sharing her cooking videos on social media, a way to pass the time and keep her mind off the war. So far, she has 411,000 followers on Instagram.
"Right now, life is very difficult," she says through a translator. "I hope to be able to leave Gaza with my family and live a normal life. But that is expensive." A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family raise money to pay to leave the enclave.
One of the charities helping Renad find ingredients for her recipes is Human Concern International, the oldest Muslim relief organization in Canada.
"With people's donations, we are able to buy these goods," says Hassan Wadi, the charity’s global fund development director. "11 of our trucks have also entred (Gaza)," he says.
Wadi says he got in touch with Renad and her family after seeing her videos online.
