I First Met Mona…

Through a friend who had been organizing to connect Palestinian families who had been displaced during the Israeli assault on Gaza with people looking to donate to and help amplify their fundraisers. Within our first few conversations, Mona had captured my heart with her compassion, her tenderness, and her fierce tenacity to do anything she could to get her loved ones to a safe place. Over the next weeks and months we would talk about the struggles she and her family were facing as well as connect over the more mundane and beautiful moments of life. Her updates, when she was able to get access to the internet, became the moments of my day I would most look forward to. We continued to brainstorm ways to help spread the word about her fundraiser and I began to imagine a day when the borders would open again and I might be able to finally meet her in person, in a place where she and her family finally felt safe again.

What can you do to help?

Mona and her family are desperately in need of donations to help them meet their weekly expenses while they wait for the Rafah land crossing to reopen to Egypt, as well as help them establish a small nest egg to help support them once they arrive while they establish a new life there.

Linked here is their GoFundMe page where they are currently receiving funds.

The situation in Gaza continues to get more dire by the day and what little food is making its way in has become prohibitively expensive. Your donation makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE. If you can’t donate, please share their story and help us spread the word.

WHAT IS THEIR PLAN?

Thanks to the generous donations of so many of you so far, Mona has secured enough funds to cover the costs of travel permits and legal documentation for relocation to Egypt for herself, her husband, their four children, and their mother. However, this much anticipated milestone came just weeks after the Rafah land crossing was closed and now the family is stuck playing a terrifying waiting game under incredibly harsh conditions. They currently need at least $1,000 a month to pay rent and purchase food and other basic supplies, but with prices rising daily this continues to get more precarious by the day.

Any additional funds remaining once the borders open will be used to help support them upon their resettlement in Egypt, helping them to secure desperately needed shelter and help pay for the living expenses for the first few months while they seek work.