Help the AlGhandour Family in Gaza

Hello! We, the Wenker Family, are urgently seeking to raise money for the survival of our loved ones in Gaza. Thank you for taking the time to read our story.

Last year, we had the privilege of hosting Jehad, a 16 year old exchange student from Gaza. He studied here through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange And Study Scholarship, funded by the US State Department after 9/11 to promote the mutual understanding between the US and predominantly Muslim countries. It’s a highly competitive program, and Jehad was selected after rigorous interviews out of a pool of more than 500 candidates. While living with us in Minnesota, he completed his junior year of high school at White Bear Senior High, competed on the swim team, and won the hearts of everyone in the community. He truly changed our lives for the better. Now, his family is in urgent need of help. Here is a message from Jehad’s family:

To the free world,

Hello, we are the AlGhandour family, a simple Palestinian family of seven living in the Gaza strip. We have lived through wars, yet we lived our lives happily and enjoyed our small city, enjoyed its beach, restaurants, and our people. Despite these hardships, we have always loved life. Our oldest son, Jehad, was lucky enough to live life abroad for the 2022-2023 school year through the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange And Study Scholarship. Jehad lived in Minnesota with the Wenkers, the kindest and most amazing family. During his year abroad, they showed Jehad how life is outside of the siege of Gaza, and Jehad saw freedom for 10 months. When he returned back to Gaza in June 2023, he was so motivated to finish high school and study abroad to become a doctor. He hoped that one day he would be able to see his host family again. Yet the unexpected happened. Now it's over 90 days of the Israeli genocide on Gaza. We lost our home, our friends, and our grandpa is under the rubble of his home. Jehad's current dream is to find wood, water, and food: to survive this war. We have decided—if we stay alive—to make a new life outside of Gaza. Although it's our lovely city, it won't be beautiful again for years. The amount of destruction can't be described. So to live a new life outside we would need a new home, the money for school and university. Your donation will provide for urgently needed supplies now and will help guarantee a new future for us.

All money will be collected by the Wenker family and sent directly to the AlGhandour family. Please share this along with others to help us reach our goal! Thank you!