Shafai Family Fund

Hi! My name is Erin, as neighbors and friend's of the Shafai family from Plymouth, MA we would like to ask the community for support to help this family get back on their feet. The Shafai family has touched so many, Sanaa would bake bread for days, Seera and Yumna would deliver fresh eggs from their family chickens, Hazem helped neighbors with yard work and gardening and little Jasser just lit up the neighborhood every day with his sweet bubbly personality. They cared about their neighbors and their community and we would like to show them the same in return.

They have safely crossed the border and are seeking medical care before their journey home to the United States. The Shafai family and their friends pray for the safety of all innocent civilians both in Israel and in Gaza. We know times are tough for everyone but please consider making a donation, no amount is too small. Here is a statement sent by Hazem on behalf of his family:

"We are slowly recovering from what we have been through in Gaza. Jasser is doing well he started to eat and recovering from his sickness; Sanaa and the girls are doing ok. When we got to Egypt we ate our first hot meal and took our first hot shower in 30 days. And finally, I got my insulin since all mine had gone bad and I couldn't find any because there was no electricity to keep it refrigerated.

We have lost all of our savings by putting it into an apartment that we bought and now it's leveled to the ground. When we left the our apartment , we left with only important papers and one set of clothes for each, so will be able to carry and run away from the bombing. We moved from a place to a place seeking a safe one but there was no place to call safe in Gaza. We never thought that we are going to go through this, the pain and the fear was overwhelming and scary. Looking for a shelter, food and clean water was so hard all the 30 days of us being there. All of us got sick so many times because of the water and food quality.

We tried to cross the border 7 times spending 8 hours waiting at crossing every time and every time we back and forth we were considered as target because not a lot of cars were on roads, finally we made it the seventh time. We left with nothing and we only cared about taking the kids to a safe place out of the excruciating war.

We are planning to fly back to Boston on Tuesday and thank everyone who made a difference by helping us to get out of the war zone. We also want the kids to have some time with their friends for few days so they can feel comfortable.

We are going to move close to my brother in Rapid City SD so we can register them in school even though they haven't been in school in the last 35 days, but we hope that they will get in on time for the year.

We are glad that we have escaped the war however we don't feel joy, leaving families behind it's so difficult and hard knowing what if they are going to be alive or not.

I want to thank you for all your support and efforts."

Thank you for all of the love, support and help navigating through the unimaginable.