Support families in Beit Hanoun with water & electricity

Hello friends, comrades & community,

My name is Rachael Shapiro, and I am supporting my dear friend Omar Hamad in organizing the construction of a solar-powered well in Beit Hanoun, North Gaza. The well will provide urgently needed water and electricity to his and many other families in his area.

Mutual aid is the most meaningful, tangible way we can stand with our Palestinian siblings - not in the form of charity, but through material support and direct community care that enables them to rebuild and maintain autonomy. Omar has done an enormous amount of work and research for this project, which will be crucial as a first step in re-establishing fundamental life essentials in the North. It is a responsibility to leverage financial privilege, particularly in the West, to drive this and projects like it forward.

Below Omar's description of the initiative and where the funds will go:

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This occupation has destroyed all of Gaza, especially the northern part. I am from North Gaza, specifically from Beit Hanoun, the northernmost town bordering the occupied Palestinian territories. This town has been 100% destroyed—there are no homes, no electricity, no water, no sewage system, not even hospitals, clinics, schools, or many other essential things.

But we want to live, and we love our land. We returned to our destroyed homes and set up tents beside them. However, there is a major problem—there is no water source in the area. Every day, my siblings and I walk at least 2 kilometers to fill water containers, and this is unimaginable. I go to fetch water twice a day, and our bodies have been pushed beyond their limits.

That is why I decided to help my family, neighbors, and community by digging a water well to extract groundwater suitable for drinking, washing, and bathing.

Wherever there is water, there is life.

Digging this well at this time is very costly due to the shortage of materials and the occupation’s blockade on goods, equipment, and many other necessities. There are small companies or groups of workers who have the equipment for drilling wells. I contacted them and inquired about the cost of a fully equipped well, and it amounts to approximately $7,000—a very high price, far beyond what I expected.

There is also no electricity to operate this well, so I looked into the prices of solar panels and batteries. I found that a 200-amp battery costs $1,500, and we need six batteries, bringing the total to $9,000. A 670-watt solar panel costs around $1,300, with a total of approximately $8,000. The power regulator costs about $1,500.

The total cost for everything comes to $25,500.

The good thing is that my family and neighbors in the area will have continuous access to water and electricity.

We want to live a dignified life in the place we choose. We want our most basic rights—water, electricity, and the freedom to live where we belong.

Omar Hamad