Gaza Sisters Code Apps for the Deaf Amid War

A car horn blared on a crowded Gaza street as Lama and Yara Elnajjar walked home from school one afternoon. Everyone jumped to safety except one man who stood frozen in the vehicle's path because he was deaf.

That moment changed everything for the two sisters. They asked themselves a powerful question: how could technology become an ear for those who cannot hear?

The answer became Nabheni, an AI-powered app that detects important sounds like alarms, doorbells, and car horns, then sends alerts to a smartwatch or phone. The technology turns environmental sounds into actionable information, giving deaf individuals greater safety and independence in their daily lives.

Before October 2023, Gaza had one of the world's highest literacy rates at 97 percent, with more than 95 percent of children enrolled in school. Today, nearly all schools have closed, leaving around 645,000 children without formal education.

But the Elnajjar sisters refused to let the crisis stop them. In July 2024, they launched Code for Future, a four-month programme teaching programming to displaced youth living in camps.

Around 50 students learned Flutter and Python despite frequent power outages and limited internet access. Many had been out of school for months, yet they built real projects that serve their community, including a mobile app reminding elderly people to take their medication on time.

The sisters' younger siblings share the same passion for technology and social good. They developed Power of Mind, an app using EEG technology that allows people with mobility disabilities to control devices through brainwaves.

The Ripple Effect

The Elnajjar family's work shows how innovation thrives even in the toughest circumstances. Their projects earned international recognition, including WSIS Champions and Expo Malisa Asia awards, and the sisters traveled to NASA through the Tech Talent programme.

More importantly, the students who completed Code for Future gained confidence and skills that open doors to future opportunities. They earned recognized Technovation certificates and now serve as proof that education and hope can survive even when systems collapse.

The sisters work closely with Technovation as student ambassadors, spreading their vision that technology should empower everyone. Their apps address real problems they witnessed firsthand, turning personal experiences into solutions that improve lives.

Across Gaza, hundreds of thousands of students have seen their education interrupted, but stories like the Elnajjar sisters remind us that learning never truly stops when determination meets opportunity.