Save the "Heart" of Rafah's Children's Village

*6/14 Update: THANK YOU Friends! While they survived the most recent massacres Rafah, she lost her favorite uncle in an air strike. Shorouq & Fathi's evacuation account is now the only source of support for their larger family.

As a true humanitarian, she has full-heartedly agreed to purchase a wheelchair for a lonely elder who cannot walk and has purchased a large water barrel to share. We can expect these kinds of mutual care expenses to continue. They are now living in this area, very recently a thriving modern metropolis, but now an unlivable, post-apocalyptic landscape:

There is no potable water, internet in the area, or shared facilities for basic hygiene - so everything, from attaining fuel for cooking, finding food to cook, using the restroom, charging phones, and any calls or texting requires constant travel on foot. As we don't know when the border will open, I've added $15,000 to the goal to provide for the extreme costs of living, while protecting their evacuation fees and expenses. As any of you know, Shorouq is deeply modest, while her heart is just gigantic. She never expected this campaign to work, or for anyone to care. She didn't ask for it or reach out to anyone. So she is constantly surprised and overwhelmed with gratitude towards this community. Every single day she expresses wells of love, appreciation, and prayers of protection on you and your loved ones.

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*5/18 Update: Shorouq & Fathi were displaced again to Khan Younis, a 5km trek for this mama & her 6 year old. Imagine moving mattresses, a kitchen setup, and bags on foot, under fire. We spoke beforehand & I could see the missiles raining down upon Rafah. She's now with her mom and siblings, in some ways a gift for her mom, as they lost 26 year-old Dahlia, but also a nightmare: they are still not safe, and there is no tent to shelter them from the desert sun. We just sent $700 for the tent, and will send the rest to help them with basic needs & food. They will also resume children's support activities there. They STILL INTEND TO EVACUATE, so let's keep going to GET THEM SAFE!! Thank you friends!

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Hi, I'm Maya, a mom of six in Oregon. I'm raising funds for the emergency evacuation of my sweet friend Fathi, age 6, and his mom Shorouk, the beloved "Big Heart" team member of Rafah's Children's Village (where Awni Farhat has gathered 15 professionals to bring basic needs, play, and trauma therapy to over 250 families). They had a beautiful home, but it was destroyed by the occupation, and Shorouk and Fathi were forced to evacuate to a wet tent in dire cold, with very little food, and disease-ridden, unhygienic circumstances. The situation in Rafah is immediately dangerous, as Israel is threatening to attack, and they have been consistently exposed to nearby bombing, automatic arms fire, and tanks for 5 months straight. 9,000 women and over 13,000 children have been killed. The state of Israel does not distinguish between civilians and their military enemies, so families are directly targeted daily for execution. Over 17,000 children are unaccompanied. I urgently ask for your support to help Shorouk leave Gaza immediately, so that they can join her husband at his work as a teacher in Kuwait, and Fathi can grow up in a healthy, safe environment, feasting with friends, re-attending school, and eventually live out his dreams.

Shorouk, and the entire staff of Palestinian Humanitarian Relief are heroes, to their community, and the millions of people around the world fighting for the dignity, safety, and freedom of Indigenous Palestinian children.

In her words: "I am Shorouk Taha, 29 years old, and specializing in health administration. I worked in the field of health education as well as children’s activities.

Every day, I used to work on developing my skills and experiences. My self-confidence was the primary support for any success. Every day, I took care of my home, my husband, and my son. I used to live the best, most beautiful life, and even though I had little, I was very happy.

Until one day I woke up to the sound of heavy explosions around us. I woke up to a war that has destroyed all the details of my life and the memories that are dear to my heart. Sighs, sadness, and pain increase by the day as we go through pain and massacres.

I separated from my friends and moved to the Indonesian Hospital where we stayed for several days. Without any warning we found ourselves surrounded by the Israelis, their tanks, snipers and shells over our heads. We moved south at 6 o'clock in the morning, under fire and bombings and arrived in Khan Yunis without anything. There, we stayed in the Hamad School for a few days until we decided to evacuate to Rafah. We were displaced from one suffering to another suffering to the Rafah shelter.

Currently, we are in a tent in the depths of the snow, and we cannot find anything to warm me or my son. We sleep on the ground soaked by humidity. I cry every day from the situation we have reached.

Every night I open my phone and look at my pictures. My memories, which were erased by reality and by the occupation.

My life before the war was very beautiful. I always had breakfast with my family. Now, we are all separated and we don't have any news of each other. In the war, my life became a process of searching for the minimum necessities of life, and for a reason to live for. We no longer see anything but condolences and sadness. We stopped seeing laughter on people’s faces. We stopped hearing the words “I am fine.” Everyone is sad and thinking about the decision to stop the war.

I hope that at least one of my beautiful memories will remain with me."

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I am deeply grateful for your support to save Fathi and Shorouk. No amount is too small, if $2, $5, or $10 is significant to you, it is blessed! If you can help them to escape fast with a large donation, you can be sure you will have made a massive difference in saving this important family. I will collect all of the funds through regular withdrawals into a dedicated bank account for their evacuation. I will send them directly to their family member who will meet them in Egypt to help them through Rafah Crossing. The amount to be raised includes the current cost of $2500 per child, $5k per adult, $1500 in expedited fees, $1500 in living expenses/as a buffer for at least 30 days while awaiting processing, and $2000 for flights to Egypt to collect them, and their flights to her husband in Kuwait, and $2500 to get Fathi what he needs to settle into normalcy (clothes, toys, school uniforms, supplies, medical and emotional support).