Gaza Food Relief Project By Mohammed Ayyad

Gaza Food Relief Project By Mohammed Ayyed YouTube

Hey there! My name is Michelle D. and I go by "Mariposa Filosa". My best friend Alyson S. also known as “Alysun" and I are both humanitarian indie artists based in the Chicagoland area in the United states. We created this GoFundMe on behalf of Mohammed Ayyad, a Palestinian young man in Gaza.

As people who have survived homelessness living in my car together 2 years ago, Alyson and I deeply empathize with the millions of people in Gaza who have nothing to call their own and have no way to help themselves.

Mohammed and his older brother Tareq have collaborated with us to create this campaign. This campaign is called The Gaza Food Relief Project by Mohammed Ayyad based in Gaza, Palestine.

I met Mohammed through helping create a crowdfunding video to escape Gaza for his family on my Tiktok account. We kept contact and transferred communication onto Instagram. There I raised his family’s visibility through crowdfunding with his digital flyer, speaking out against the genocide in Palestine, and by reposting and interacting with his videos. I distributed physical flyers downtown in the city of Chicago multiple times and posted content on YouTube and TikTok as well.

I also keep in contact with his older brother Tareq on Instagram and have transferred over to Whatsapp. Here we have a group chat where Alyson, Tareq, and I discuss the details of this project. Alyson helps out by providing Tareq and I support, advice, and creative ideas as I set up this campaign since she has experience with crowdfunding, requesting mutual aid, and graphic design.

I will be collecting funds to a separate online bank account on Ally bank and transfer funds abroad through Moneygram. The funds will also be used to cover the GoFundMe fees and transfer abroad fees. These funds will be received by their father Alaa who will then hand them over to brothers Mohammed and Tareq. The Ayyad brothers will buy the materials needed to fulfill their basic needs such as food, clean water, hygiene products, medicine, healthcare, shelter and anything else they may need to survive this genocide. They will then distribute these resources to their family of 13 people, 50 families of their relatives, and some neighboring families in their community in Gaza.

Despite my previous efforts to help, the Ayyad family along with many other families in Gaza are still in huge need. Most families who are able to, have set aside funds for when the borders open again and they are able to evacuate Gaza to flee to another country. However, they still need funds for their unmet basic needs listed above. Basic needs are fundamental and critical for every human being’s survival. We all deserve access to the resources required to meet these needs. This campaign will help the families in Gaza raise money for these essential resources.

Recently, I was able to fundraise $100 through the Ayyad family GoFundMe link by going live on my Tiktok account. This money was used by Mohammed and Tareq to provide the children in Gaza with snacks, and that made them very happy. It brought tears to my eyes knowing that I was able to change their circumstances even just a little bit by providing them happiness and relief in the form of food. I will leave the pictures and the YouTube video created by the Ayyad brothers down below for you to see.

The Ayyad brothers have the purest intentions of helping out their own family but also the large community of Palestinians in need in Gaza. Alyson and I are here to provide them support and I am offering to utilize my platforms to help bring them visibility in their time of need.

We need your support to keep the young children and families of Gaza happy and hopeful for the days to come as they do their very best to survive the injustices of this genocide. Your generous contribution changes the lives of hundreds of people and directly affects their future and ability to live a life as good as yours.

It is not fair that these innocent families have to suffer this tragic, unending 10-month siege of attacks, bombing, displacement, and man-made famine. They have no access to the resources they need, no income to provide for themselves, and no home to call their own. I call onto you to help change the trajectory of their lives by providing a donation, no matter the amount. As well as sharing this campaign with your family, friends, and communities you are a part of.

I always think to myself, “If I was in this situation and this was my family who was in danger, I would want people to help me.” Help in this situation would mean human beings who are willing and able to show my family and I their support and solidarity through acts of kindness. These acts of kindness are characterized as contributing financially, sharing this situation with someone who can help, and even creating a simple post online and on social media with this campaign link.

It is our duty as a human family to help our brothers, sisters, and siblings in need and to stand by them; showing our support and solidarity by doing everything we can in our scope of power to help.

You and I have the privilege of time and comfort which is why we are even able to read this campaign. If every single person who read this campaign donated the smallest amount which is $5, that means we would be able to provide the families in Gaza food and much more. Thus, bringing them relief that they are in desperate need of.

When you eat; you feel better, you think better, and you overall improve your state of being. This is a small step to saving our human family, yet it is enough to keep them hopeful and keep them alive. Thank you for sharing your time with us today and reading this campaign. Your kindness and investment is the hope that keeps these children alive and optimistic for the future. I hope you have a beautiful day.

-Mariposa Filosa, Alysun, & The Ayyad Family