SCM Medical & Salaam Cultural Museum

The people of Ghouta need your help.  Recently some of them have been allowed to leave thru a humanitarian channel, but they are now living on the streets in Damascus.  They need food and shelter and medical help to survive.  We are asking for your assistance to get help to them as soon as possible.  With your donations we will be able to get the above supplies for these families.  We have trusted people on the ground that aer volunteers for SCM and having been working for years in the region.  Please help us help them.  No family should be left to live like this in the 21st century.  Do not just talk but put your hand in your pocket and help.  SCM is a 501c3 organization and have been working in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey since the beginning

Thank you
Rita Zawaideh
CEO
www.scmmedicalmissions.org

After nearly six years, Syria remains locked in a civil war that has taken the lives of more than 400,000 Syrians and has displaced more than 9 million, with over 5 million fleeing as refugees to neighboring countries. This crisis is even more so aggravated by a lack of access to alternate food sources and by harsh living conditions.

With funding so precarious and the refugee population growing so rapidly, most refugees are not registered in camps, and often need the most help but are the least able to gain access to it.

For several years now, Salaam Cultural Museum ("SCM")-- a local Seattle Non-profit organization that is very dear to my heart--  has led an ongoing fundraising initiative and Medical Missions. With the contributions of generous donors, SCM supports displaced Syrians in need in Jordan, Turkey, and Greece.

This Ramadan season Salaam Cultural Museum is working to provide food for 2,000 displaced families in areas of Jordan.    

In conjunction with the month of Ramadan, I am launching this personal fundraiser under Salaam Cultural Museum to raise $10,000 to provide food packages for displaced Syrians un-registered in camps and living in the Jordanian neighborhoods of Irbid, Gouta, Madaba, Zarka.

A donation of $40 provides a family of four with food staples (flour, sugar, cooking oil, pasta, rice, cheese, canned foods, tea, frozen chicken) to break fast with FOR A MONTH. Even the most modest donations can alleviate suffering among those less fortunate to break fast with a spread of food.  

My personal mission is to raise at least $10,000 for SCM before Ramadan, and to continue the fundraiser throughout Ramadan until needs are met (total of $80,000). By meeting the $10,000 goal, 250 families will have access to food staples for an entire month ($80,000 will feed 2000 families!).

In units of $3000, money is wired over to coordinated personnel in Jordan charged with distributing food packages in refugee camps and neighboring communities.

So, what did you last spend $40 on?

If you can spare the cost of a dinner out, a mani/pedi or a new top, I encourage you to join me as I work towards my goal.

Click the "Donate Now" button to the right, enter your generous donation with your e-mail for confirmation of donation. Please continue sharing so that we can provide immediate relief and basic necessities to families in need.

Thank you all for your continuous support. 

Warmly,

Farah



http://www.scmmedicalmissions.org/food-aid/

My story:

I've been working in the investment business for the last 35 years now. I deal with many different kinds of great people, butit's usually about their money or investments. I love my job, but I have wanted to try and do something completely out of my comfort zone.  I think this will do.

A little context - my mom was also a war refugee, but from WWII Europe. We heard the horrible stories of what hardships so many endured both during and after the War.  It all ended up OK with my mom, but she also got some  "help" along the way. My decision to volunteer my time to help these desperate people trying to start a new life  was easy. I just want to help somebody else out too, in their time of need.  

I will be flying to Lesvos, Greece (an island in the Aegean Sea, next to Turkey) in mid-March to spend 9 days helping others, as best as I can. All the costs of travel, etc for me will be my own donation. What I am setting up here, is a way for others to help support this endeavor financially. The charity group I am traveling with, is a local Seattle based non-profit group  that is directly supporting relief efforts in Greece now. They really need everything, but money is the best way to help them now.  Please join my journey. These desperate people and families, could really use a helping hand. Your donations will go directly to the refugees arriving there daily. Thank you.

Andre Kamber

People arriving at the beach after risking their lives on the journey across from Turkey to Greece...


Greek Islands Nomination  The Greek Island people have been nominated recently for a Nobel Peace Prize (see article here).

Boats arrive at all times of the day...

Temporary camps that greet new arrivals at the shore...

For close to 40 years  of teaching, I have taught my students about the life and legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt, weaving her wisdom into the fabric of my curriculum, helping them to feel passionate about making a difference in the world through service to others, on both a local and global level.
"Until one sees with one's own eyes and comes to feel with one's own heart, one will never understand other people". (Eleanor Roosevelt)
With my retirement comes new opportunities, so I am very excited to be sharing my upcoming travel plans with  you, taking MY turn in making a difference in the world.
    I will be joining the Saalam Cultural Centers Syrian Refugee Medical/Humanitarian Delegation to Lesbos, Greece from February 20-29 and am requesting donations for the purchase of a variety of critical needs for the refugees. This money will be spent on Lesvos to help stimulate  their  stuggling economy.  I am self-funding my own travel expenses.
 
     I will be traveling with another Bainbridge Islander, and new friend, Bonny Danielson. Both of us were inspired to look into  SCC's program  after our friend Ellin Spenser and her son,Tim, returned from their trip to Lesvos last month. Ellin is already planning her return trip as well as getting involved in local ways to help with the Syrian refugee crisis. 
My  trip also has a deeply personal meaning for me, as I will be taking it to honor and celebrate of the life and legacy of my mother, Audrey Hall Mendoza, who died June 4, 2015.  She would wholly embrace this cause and be proud and supportive of my involvement. 
The closing lines of Mom's favorite Mary Oliver poem,  A Summer Day, continues to inspire me~
"Tell me, what is your plan to do
with you one wild and precious life?"
Now that you know MY plan, please visit these websites to learn more about SCC's mission to bring people of all cultures together in building bridges of understanding while helping out during times of crisis. The second site underscores the incredible generosity of spirit of the Greek culture.
I welcome your support!
THANK you~
Alice
http://salaamculturalmuseum.wordpress.com
http://in-cyprus.com/greek-islands-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize/




Medical and humanitarian volunteers on the job in Lesvos. Boats arrive with Syrian refugees at all times, day and night.

                            Salaam Cultural Center Base Camp


Medical and humanitarian volunteers on the job in Lesbos.