Operation Olive Branch

Announcing Phase 2 of Operation Olive Branch’s Direct Aid Initiative:

Because of your overwhelming support of our pilot program, the OOB Perinatal Project, we are expanding (see original GFM description below).

In collaboration with our partners and heroes Pal Humanity, we are launching a pilot Family Encampment which will accommodate approx 300 individuals (30 families) in Phase 1. The camp will provide shelter, food, water, medical services, WiFi, electricity and other necessities.

Phase 1 is Perinatal focused as it was the surplus of funding from the Perinatal Project fundraiser that launched it. However, Phase 2 will target families with disabilities and urgent medical needs as we have doctors living on site.

OOB has utilized 117K of your support to build the camp and we estimate monthly maintenance could be as high as $100 per person, which is $1000 per tent or $30K a month total.

OOB Camps meet international standards for sanitation (eg: 1 bathroom per 20 people) and operate on an Indigenously guided foundation of “safe, simple and sustainable”. Therefore our engineers constructed pit latrines instead of cess pits (common in the area) which are banned in many countries for contaminating ground water and spreading disease. To maintain cultural and religious dignity, the latrines have bidets that store in blackwater tanks to allow for cleansing with water with the least maintenance possible.

ALL OOB Camps begin with building a well, dispersing it amongst camp and providing access to the public because #WaterIsLife

With your continued support, we hope to expand this camp to 1000 individuals (100 tents) as quickly as possible and we hope this location will be the first of many.

Please follow us and PAL Humanity on social media for regular updates.

Please note that the below description for the Perinatal Project is still valid and we work with the same partners.

Operation Olive Branch is a volunteer-powered grassroots collective effort to connect with and amplify Palestinian voices in an effort to support their critical needs, which include but are not limited to their mutual aid requests. Our solidarity initiative is steered by a diverse core council of global advocates including Palestinian and Jewish voices.

We strive to verify the fundraising efforts of families, as well as our medical partners, to best support them to navigate the challenges of social media and fundraising.

Please find a list of our “verified” families and medical aid partners here: Verified Families & Mutual Aid

We quickly identified over a hundred families who required urgent perinatal care and support during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Faced with malnutrition, lack of food, clean water and limited access to medical support, families are experiencing severe perinatal medical complications.

As a result, The Perinatal Project was created in partnership with Operation Olive Branch to connect families in Gaza to essential perinatal care.

The project relies on community partners to carry out these essential needs on a regular basis. These established organizations and individuals provide direct service to the families on the ground by delivering aid, facilitating access to medical support, language translation, and sourcing supplies in a constantly changing environment.

The OOB Perinatal Project has set up a fundraiser to deliver direct monetary support to the project’s partners. Whilst these organizations and individuals may have their own fundraising projects set up, they do not always see compensation or receive enough funds to meet the needs of the families on the ground. It is vital we ensure the Project’s partners have adequate funds to continue their work.

In order to provide ongoing transparency regarding monetary allocations, OOB will provide regular updates on this campaign.

Please find information on our community partners below:

PAL Humanity is an initiative led by two female Doctors who provide field visits, distribute aid (primarily diapers, menstrual/hygiene kits and formula) and are launching a Medical Tent in southern Gaza.

Dr. Zayn is a General Dentist whose focus is to distribute infant formula and hot meals. He is working to set up a Milk Project (newborn to age three years) and has been instrumental in sourcing and delivering formula to families in the project.

Amani Alkahlout, a well-known cook and food blogger, continues to orchestrate cooking for hundreds of families in Rafah. She also delivers supplies such as diapers, wipes, blankets and food to individual families.

This will be a continuous crowdfund for as long as our community partners need. Should The Perinatal Project have a change or addition to community partnerships, Operation Olive Branch will include those updates on this campaign.

Lastly, please continue to directly support aid groups and individuals on the ground, as their funds help serve the broader community as well.