Help Families in Khan Younis, Gaza Get Clean Water

Hello everyone, I’m Andrew. I'm a human rights activist in San Diego, California.

Since last October, the people of Gaza have been under siege. The necessities of life have become nearly impossible to find among the rubble. Israeli bombs displace families, murder civilians, and deprive the most vulnerable people in the world of their right to a safe home. I’ve been struggling while watching this from America, watching the bombs drop and being unable to do anything to change this course.

Water is life, and the water crisis in Gaza has become dire. Water production in Gaza dropped 95% after October 9th. We are coming up on a year of no access to clean water; infrastructure damage caused by Israeli forces leak sewage into what little water remains from, further causing disease and suffering throughout Gaza. This is a desperate situation for the families displaced by the war, and today we can help.

I’ve known my friend Ahmed Shameya for a few years, through his journalistic work in Gaza. Repeated bombing campaigns have led him and his family to the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where they are staying with about 750 other families with limited water supplies. While emergency relief services have been handing out water, it isn’t sustainable for that number of refugees. That’s why we’re fundraising for a more permanent and long-term solution.

We are looking to raise funding for a motor for water purification purposes. Tata Motors Engines are what we have our eyes on; their low cost and ease of maintenance are ideal for the situation on the ground in Gaza. Unfortunately, because of the crisis, these motors aren’t cheap. We are looking for $6000 for a gas powered motor or $10,000 for one that doesn’t require gas. Gas is limited, and while aid organizations have some, it would be better for the families if they didn't have to rely on already scarce resources.

Reader, this is where you and I come in. Any small contribution will add up to clean water for thousands of people, many of whom are children. Even if we can only raise enough for one motor, we have the chance to give people in Gaza clean and reliable water for the first time in a year. I can’t even imagine going through that, but I see my friends enduring the worst atrocities of my lifetime, and it breaks my heart. If I can do anything at all here to help Ahmed, his family, and his community to get water, I will. I want to give the families of Gaza the basics they deserve, and the hope they need for a new day. I hope you want that too, and I hope you will help. Thank you.

A photo of what we're hoping to get.