Hi, my name is Priya, and I'm a researcher and community broadcaster based in Narrm/Melbourne. I've created this fundraiser on behalf of my friend Sama Al-Tufula (a pseudonym used for safety reasons), an early childhood educator from Gaza.

Sama has expertise in working with children who have special needs and is also a child psychological support specialist. Since October 7th, she has been working with various local education organisations to sustain the vital provision of educational and psychosocial support services to children in Gaza. She has also previously run psychological support initiatives out of tent camps in Rafah, Gaza City, and the central area of Gaza.

School-aged children, who have largely been attending classes in tent camps and other informal settings due to the widespread destruction of infrastructure in Gaza, are currently on break for the summer. Amidst the ongoing attacks, however, their experiences are far from your typical school holiday. Children who are simply playing in the streets with their friends, grasping at a fleeting sense of joy amidst the rubble, are frequently at risk of being wounded or killed in strikes. This risk is heightened when school is out of session, as children wandering through or playing in the rubble with their friends become targets.

Because of this risk, Sama, in collaboration with other local educators and community members, has planned a summer camp initiative for children in her area. This is not just to keep children out of harm's way, but to enrich their lives through recreational activities and to provide them with access to essential psychosocial supports.

The fundraising goal for the campaign is broken down as follows:

Total Required and Target Amount for the Campaign: $29,000 AUD (Australian Dollars)

Please read on for further details written by Sama.

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A Safe Haven for Gaza's Children: Bloodless Dolls

Letting Our Children Live Their Childhood Like the Rest of the World's Children

Dear compassionate hearts and generous souls everywhere,

I write to you today from the very heart of suffering in Gaza. I write not merely as a teacher witnessing these events, but as a mother and a sister to every child here who is searching for a shred of safety.

Throughout the past months, school was the only safe haven for our children. The classrooms, alongside my fellow teachers and me, served as a warm embrace, providing them with a psychological and physical comfort they could find nowhere else. There, for a short while, they could forget the harsh daily hardships forced upon them. They forgot the exhaustion of hauling and filling water tanks in the blistering heat; they forgot standing for long hours in front of roaring woodfires to bake bread; and they forgot the backbreaking labor that wore down their tiny bodies—bodies never meant for such misery. When they came to us, they left that physical burden and fatigue behind to live moments of a stolen childhood.

Today, with the arrival of the summer break and the closure of schools, our children face an even greater and more ruthless danger. The streets here are not a place for play or joy; they are permanent arenas of death. Just a short while ago, an innocent six-year-old girl was playing peacefully with her friends and neighbors in the street. Suddenly and without warning, a young man walking near them was targeted. In seconds, the street turned into a tragedy: seven children were severely injured, one little girl completely lost her hearing, another had her tiny leg amputated... As for that six-year-old girl, a treacherous piece of shrapnel lodged itself right into her small heart.

Out of sheer shock and the terror of the explosion, the little girl ran frantically to her house, clutching her doll with the white dress as hard as she could, screaming at the top of her lungs to her mother: "Mommy... my doll is hurt! My doll is bleeding!" In her profound fear and panic, that little one did not realize that the blood covering her doll’s white dress was actually her own... blood pouring from her pure chest and body as she tried to protect her doll.

If only this little girl, or those children who resort to playing under the rubble of homes that could collapse at any second just to escape the scorching sun and open heat, had found a single safe place that cared for them and took them in, they would never have faced such a terrifying fate.

Out of the depths of this pain, our idea was born: to establish a recreational summer camp that provides intensive psychological and moral support, featuring behavioral release sessions for children, with absolute priority given to the wounded, children with special needs, and orphans. We want them to come every day to play and have fun without feeling any burden or physical fatigue, but rather to heal both mentally and physically.

A Glimmer of Hope and Immense Human Kindness:

God has opened a great door of hope for us; "Uncle Mazen" has generously donated a 300-square-meter plot of land located in a safe area, completely far from the yellow (dangerous) zones. Uncle Mazen's kind donation has saved us an estimated monthly rental cost of $1,000 AUD. We hope you can all take inspiration from the values of generosity, assistance, and genuine contribution shown by Uncle Mazen, and extend your hands to join us in building this haven.

Thanks to the generous contribution of "Uncle Mazen", who provided his land free of charge, we were able to reduce the budget by $2,000 AUD (the land rental cost for two months). This humanitarian kindness has brought down the cost of fully sponsoring a single child for the entire two months—including camp setup, intensive psychosocial support, daily food, toys, clean water, and safety—to just $96 AUD (approximately $60 USD).

Our Pledge of Absolute Transparency:

We promise you, before God and your consciences, absolute transparency. We will provide documentary evidence and official receipts showing exactly where every single dollar goes, and we will share regular updates with photos and videos of these children's smiles once the camp is set up and their needs are met.

Your donation makes the difference between a child playing under the rubble exposed to death, and a child smiling and healing psychologically inside a safe camp. Help us bring back their safety!

Please share this link before our children are left on the streets in imminent danger. Share and donate quickly so we can begin the preparations right now! If you are unable to donate, please share the link with business owners and companies—this is a project to save the lives of innocent children.

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Image credit: The photograph posted with this campaign was taken by Gazan photographer and videographer Hosny Salah. You can find and support his work here on Pixabay.