Support Gaza's surfing Abo Ghanem brothers

Dionne Ybarra is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hello my friends

We are the brothers Youssef, Abdullah, and Muhammad Abu Ghanem, from Palestine, from Gaza City. We come from a a family of 10, 4 brothers and 4 sisters, and we live in the Sheikh Ajlin neighborhood on the shore of the Gaza Sea. From the sea came our talent, which we have always loved, which is the sport of surfing on the sea. Anyone who loves this sport and follows its news in Gaza will undoubtedly know us. Whoever does not know us will search for us and will know a lot about our talent through the pictures and magazines in which we have photographed many press and photographers.

Youssef, our older brother, is considered one of the pioneers of this sport and is one of the original members of the Gaza Surf Club. The cover photo for this fundraiser is him when he was younger in the early days of Gaza surfing. He was featured in the film "Gaza Surf Club”, which spread around the world and achieved great success. He is married and has a family of two children, Jawad and Jumana. He lost his beautiful home in this war.

Abdullah, the second brother, is the one who wrote this article that you are reading. I am also a surfer and I have followed in the footsteps of my father, uncle, brother and sister in this magical sport. I graduated from university with a major in information technology, motion graphics branch. I had my job, my dreams, and my ambitions, and I finished preparing my room at home to suit my work. However, the war quickly destroyed all of these: my home, my dreams, and my future.

Muhammad, the third brother, who loves the sea and its skills, is also studying information technology, but he did not complete his studies due to financial conditions, so he worked as a lifeguard at the sea to collect money to complete his studies. Unfortunately, the war came and prevented him from completing his ambition and studies.

We all belong to a family that uses the sea as a means of happiness, comfort and reassurance. We grew up on the water, where our father worked for years as a fisherman and lifeguard. So he planted a love for the sea in our hearts. But after October 7, our lives were turned upside down. Our house, my father’s car, the fishing boat, and surfboards were all destroyed. They destroyed everything beautiful in our lives. Our family is now living in Rafah, with some of us in tents and some sharing a classroom with other families.

We are humbly asking for your support to allow us to survive this terrible time and rebuild our lives. Our goal with this fundraiser is to raise enough money to help our family survive the rest of the war and then to help us rebuild our lives when we return north to Sheikh Ajlin. Thank you so much for your support!

The host of this fundraiser is our trusted friend Dionne Ybarra. Dionne is a long-time supporter of Gaza surfers who lives in California and has supported us in many ways since 2010. She is the director of The Wahine Project and is a board member of Explore Corps, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that runs The Gaza Surf Club. Please feel free to contact her or Explore Corps with questions. They can put you in touch with me directly.

Please note that this is our own private fundraiser and is not a fundraiser for the Gaza Surf Club. Thank you again for your support!

This is Yousef in 2008