Support our Friend Mohammed and His Family in Gaza

Our friend Mohammed Zaqout.

We are urgently asking for financial support for our friend Mohammed’s family who is currently in Gaza. We first met Mohammed when he was a high school foreign exchange student in the US over ten years ago. Over time he has grown into an incredible young man and we have grown to love him like a son! He works for a charity that serves refugees in Canada, using his professional and lived experience to help refugee claimants develop new lives.

Mohammed has dedicated his life to helping others and now he needs help. His mother, two minor brothers, along with his adult brother and his wife were in Gaza when the war broke out. Mohammed's father and his middle brother had traveled to Jordan for medical treatment. This family is separated from one another and they have lost everything. Five of his family members including his mother, two youngest brothers, his brother and his brother’s wife are currently displaced in Gaza with no place to go since the most recent attack on Rafah.

Mohammed's younger brothers Aboud and Karim

This is Mohammed story.

“I was in Canada, away from my family in Gaza when the war broke out. Like me, many of you have probably been watching the news in horror seeing what is happening in Gaza. Women, children and other innocent civilians are being ruthlessly bombed. There is a lack of clean water, food, medical care and electricity. The internet and cell reception are down most of the time which means I can’t communicate with my family The death toll in Gaza has reached over 36,000 with thousands more missing, buried under collapsed buildings.”

We asked Mohammed to tell us about his family.

“My family has lost everything. Our home was completely destroyed in an air strike in October. My family is alive but escaped with only the clothes they were wearing. We have lost all of our belongings, including valuables and some emergency savings. They have been moving around, finding shelter where they can. My little brother was injured by bomb shrapnel due to an explosion by an air strike in a place they thought was safe. My family was in a tent in Rafah where it is very crowded, there is very little food and it is unsanitary. After the recent bombing in Rafah, they are displaced again with no place to go. Gaza is becoming increasingly dangerous and uninhabitable.”

Photo: Mohammed's family's home in Gaza

Photo: Tent where Mohammed's family is sheltering

Photo: Mohammed's brother

This is an opportunity to help one family.

As the conditions in Gaza deteriorate, Mohammed’s family is in crisis. They have lost everything in this war.

Funds raised will be used in the following ways:

If the family is granted family reunification in Canada, the funds will help cover necessary expenses like visas, travel, flights, housing, clothing, medical and legal fees.

Estimated cost include:

**Please be aware that things change quickly in a crisis situation. Emergency funds will be sent to the family in Gaza as needed to sustain them as resources are scarce and prices have skyrocketed. We will continue to update this financial section periodically.

If the family is unable to go to Canada the funds will be used to help the family rebuild their life in Gaza. This would include necessary expenses like housing, furnishings, clothing and medical care. The family has lost everything.

Please consider joining us in helping Mohammed’s family find safety and begin rebuilding their lives. All donations are being sent to our friend Mohammed in order to directly reach his family.

Photo: Mohammed is the oldest of five brothers (the second oldest is not pictured here.) Picture before the war.

Mohammed is a treasure to us. He has the heart of a peacemaker, someone who struggles to create equality for all people. He makes the world a better place!

Photo: Dixie and Darren Allison with Mohammed during happier times, before the current war.