Help Journalist Youssef & Family Survive

My name is Yousef, and I am a 27 year old photojournalist from G@za. I used to document life here, with all its beauty and hardships, but now my family and I have become part of the suffering I once captured through my lens. We lost our home due to the war, and I found myself responsible for protecting my little brother and older sister, alongside my mother, who is struggling with loss and pain.

Our home, which once brought us together, has turned to rubble, and we are now homeless, trying to find a place to shelter us from the cold nights and fearful days. My little brother tries to escape our painful reality through drawing, spending his nights sketching by the light of an old phone, clinging to some shred of hope. As for my mother, she battles on, despite her sorrow for losing my father, trying to give us the strength to keep going.

I am here asking for your help for my family, for my mother Fatima, my brother Adam (8) and my sister Aya (29), so we can find a new shelter to protect us, a place where we can rebuild the life that was destroyed. Any support from you, no matter how small, would be a ray of hope for us.

Although we currently don’t have jobs, my sister and I spend time doing initiatives for the children in our camp. Aya teaches them art for their mental and emotional health, and I document the reality we live. We do everything we can to take care of our little brother Adam, and the children like him all around us.

Any donations we receive will help us buy the following items and allow us to survive the coming winter and for the next six months (until April):

WINTER / CLOTHES NECESSITIES

Winter Jackets: $100 each = $400

Sweaters/ Blouse: $80 each = $320

Pants: $65 each = $260

Shoes: $85 =340

Tent: $1700

Blankets: $40 each = $120

TOTAL: $3,140

FOOD AND WATER

Food and water per month for one person (if we only eat meat once a week): $250 = $1,250 per month.

Current prices for food items:

Water: $5/day

Flour: $50

One onion $3

One potato $4

Rice: $5

Oil: $8

Chicken: $24

1kg meat: $30

One fish: $28

Eggplant: $8

Sugar: $8

Coffee: $8

Canned beans: $3

Ground chickpeas: $3.5

Ground beef: $28

Oranges: $4.50/kilo

TOTAL (until April) = $6,000

ADDITIONAL BASIC NECESSITIES

Internet: $5/day = $900

Transportation to and from markets twice per week: $1/person per way = $48

Emergency Fund: The transportation fee in the event of displacement is equal to $300

TOTAL (until April) = $1,248

TOTALS:

To cover everything for winter the total is $10,400 USD

Transfer Fees (25%): In order to get cash in G@za, I need to transfer the money in my bank to merchants who have cash. Merchants ask for around 22%-25% as exchange fees. Therefore, the transfer costs come up to $3,470

Go Fund Me Fees (4%) = $555.

This brings the complete total my family needs to survive the next six months around to $14,420. Our fundraiser is in Canadian Dollars, so after converting the amount comes up to 20,050 CAD.

We have set the overall goal as 40k to cover the year and avoid any pause in the campaign. As well, the prices for everything increases with every day that the blockade continues.

I receive funds through my friend Ashley Whittaker who runs my campaign. We met via social media when I reached out for help to start a campaign. We have now known each other for about one year and we talk daily. She has become my closest friend outside G@za. Ashley sends me money from her bank account with RBC in Canada, which receives the GFM funds, to mine with Bank of P@lestine, through international bank transfer.

Every donation, no matter how small, will help me through this difficult journey. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for any support, whether it’s through a donation or by sharing my story. You can follow our daily journey on Instagram:

@yosefhas @ayashaqfa