Operation Olive Branch
Directly Help A Family in Gaza
Hi friends,
Important update: I learned about Operation Olive Branch (OOB) this week, a US-based grassroots movement to help with the overwhelming number of crowdfunding requests1 from Palestinian families to evacuate Gaza.
It’s heartbreaking how many people need urgent aid, but it’s incredibly moving to see so many others creatively organizing across the globe, doing everything they can to help save lives. We can be part of that too.
I chose two families2 to support and I encourage you to help them too. Please click the links on the titles or photos below to donate whatever you can. Spread the word. Let’s help them get to safety.
“The families behind the fundraisers are experiencing acute starvation, illness, and trauma more extreme than any of us can imagine.”
- “Palestinians Have Turned to Crowdfunding Platforms for Survival”, TIME
Ahmed's Family
“My name is Mariah. I’m raising money to help my beloved friend Ahmed and his precious family, evacuate Gaza. Their home was destroyed by bombs. Over the last few months, they have been displaced multiple times as they traveled a treacherous road to the south of the Gaza Strip. They are currently trapped in Rafah, the southern most city on the Egyptian boarder.
Throughout these displacements, they have lost nearly everything. They have two small sleeping mats and 2 blankets. Heavy rains in Rafah have left their tent continuously soaked and muddy. They are freezing and starving. There is no food, no water, no medical help and endless bombardments. Attacks have come to Rafah where most of the population is now displaced. There is nowhere left to go. Nowhere in Gaza is safe.”
Shaymaa’s Family
“My name is Shaymaa, a Canadian-Palestinian woman living in Ontario, Canada. I’m reaching out for support to help my family members get out of Gaza and arrive in Canada. I have a family of 13 people (7 adults, 6 kids).
All my nieces and nephews are suffering from several diseases related to pollution, and lack of water and food. At the same time, they don’t have any access to the health care system as the system is destroyed.”
After months of pleas from Canadians with extended family members in the war zone, Immigration Canadian Minister Marc Miller announced the new temporary visa program for people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives.
Thank you again for your support and understanding during this challenging time. Your contribution means a new life for my family.”
With love and hope,
Kim
If you aren’t comfortable using Go Fund Me, then please donate to World Central Kitchen or Save the Children instead.
I wish we could help every single family. But to move past the overwhelm of such a long list, I decided to focus on two families with young children that are close to their goals but have not been able to evacuate yet.
It is so crazy that we have been put in position to literally have to crowdfund an entire nation out of a horrible death zone...... But it's really heartwarming to see how many people are stepping up to try and do their tiny part, when massive international institutions and governments whose job it is to protect these people have utterly failed.