Help Dina and her children survive through the war

Hello everyone, I have created this campaign on behalf of Dina and her three children, who desperately need our help in getting through the war on Gaza. Listen to her story in her words:

I am Dina, a Palestinian mother of three children, my first is Noor, who is 7 years old, my second is Omar, who is 5 years old, and my little girl Farah, who I gave birth to under the bombing a week ago. My children and I are victims of this devastating war on the Gaza Strip.

After October seventh, my life turned upside down due to the war on Gaza. On the night of October 28th, the neighborhood we lived in Gaza – the neighborhood where my children grew up and where we started our family – was completely bombed.

Unfortunately, northern Gaza was completely destroyed, or what is called a ghost town. I lost my home, my husband’s livelihood, my memories, and a large part of my soul that hung in the walls of my bombed home. We never imagined that we would go through such an endless genocide. I never imagined that my children would be exposed to such horror, fear, and hunger.

My heart aches whenever I remember the first moments of the neighborhood where I live being subjected to violent and severe shelling that caused severe damage to my home before it was finally shelled, shattering the glass on my children and spreading suffocating gunpowder throughout the house, which forced me, as a mother afraid for her children, to embrace them and bandage the wounds of my little son Omar resulting from the shattered glass caused by the shelling, amidst extreme terror that filled my heart for the state of my children. I could not comprehend what had happened. I carried water compresses to put them on my children's noses in a desperate attempt to reduce the intensity of the gunpowder and protect my children from suffocation.

Goods became scarce and expensive. My husband tried every possible way to provide something to feed our children, from weeds growing in the ground to bread made from animal feed.

Eventually, we were forced to flee to the south, the supposedly safe haven that turned out to be otherwise. Rafah was overcrowded with displaced people, and we could only find a small tent lacking the necessities of life. My children suffered from epidemics and skin diseases caused by the pollution in the camp. Unfortunately, my little daughter Noor was infected with viral hepatitis due to the shared bathrooms in the camp.

We lost everything: our home, our jobs, our dreams. My biggest worry is for Noor, Omar and my baby Farah, their future is uncertain. Where will they live, study, and grow up? Gaza offers little hope now, as the essentials of life are being destroyed. My children's future seems bleak, overshadowed by uncertainty.

You can all change the world with a little giving. I invite you to help my children and build them a bridge to a better tomorrow. Your unity will make a real difference in their lives, every drop of your contribution really matters. Thank you for your generosity of heart and your generosity of thought

UPDATE Oct 2024: Thanks to each donor of this campaign, our friend in Dina has received her first installment of money raised by this fundraiser. Getting the funds to her was not an easy task. Canadian institutions have become incredibly hostile to any effort made by anyone trying to help a Palestinian in any way: our accounts were frozen, the money seized, the transactions were denied repeatedly. But as the night gets darker, candles burn brighter. As institutions turned against us, brave and kind-hearted individuals stepped up. I especially want to thank Bea and Dalia who rose up to the occasion heroically. Without them, this campaign could very well have gone under.

Now in the beginning of October, as the season turns in Gaza, and rainwater gathers around the makeshift tents of Dina and her family, Dina has received the first installment of her funds, around $2k. And the first thing she bought is a bundle of tarps for her tent, so that her children and she could shelter from the dripping rainwater. Here, I will share her story in her own words.

"I bought a new cover to protect me from the rain because the old cover was drowning me and my children from the rainwater."

"This is the cover I bought for my tent. In the summer, this cover cost 200 shekels. I didn’t buy it at the time because I didn’t have the money, but when I received the money, I bought it for 550 shekels. I bought it for this amount because its price increases in the winter, and I am very forced to buy it."

The flimsy tent roof before

Tent cover bought by Dina. It was 200 shekels in summer and she had to buy it for 550 now.

The change in roof due to tarp. The change may not seem significant but this is the only thing shielding Dina and her children from rain (and possibly Israeli strikes). As the winter approaches, Dina and her family are grateful for every last protection and shelter they can have.

Thanks so much to each donor who made this possible for Dina. We will keep sharing posts detailing how this money is being used to help Dina. As Rafah crossing remains closed, this campaign remains the only lifeline for her and her family.