Fund the Abu Rass Family's Fight for Survival

My name is Abby Johnson. I am an American living in California organizing this fundraiser on behalf of the Abu Rass family from and living in Gaza. I have conversed with two of the family’s sons, Abdallh and Mohammed, for a few months now and over that time they have thoroughly convinced me that they are a family in Gaza who desperately need to evacuate for urgent medical care and to resume the educations of their young children. I will include the many proofs throughout their story and I believe you will be convinced too of their genuine need for our help.

The Abu Rass family has 14 members. Their family has lived in the northern Gaza Strip for generations, since before the establishment of the Zionist occupier. In 1943 the family’s ancestor Abd El Aal imported the very first olive oil press to Gaza.

Yahya Abu Rass, the patriarch of the family is 53-years-old and works as a furniture maker and carpenter. He is married to Anaam Abu Rass who is 50 and together they have two daughters, three sons, and five precious grandchildren. Yahya was diagnosed with bladder cancer in December 2022. His condition requires urgent and constant medical care, which he cannot access due to the collapse of the healthcare system in Gaza.

Their eldest son, Ashraf Aburass is 28-years-old and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics. His wife Heba Alsousi, is 27 and an architect. Ashraf and Heba have two children, named Yahya (after his grandfather) and Ward (Rose). Ward was born on September 11th, 2023 and is only 9-months old. Her mother Heba struggles to find breast milk formula or diapers for her baby, and often goes without. Heba cannot breastfeed because of her own poor health and malnutrition.

The eldest daughter of the family, Dana is 26-years old and works as an architect as well. Her and her husband Medhat, who imports lumber, have three children: Yusef, Iman (Joy), and Farrah (Faith). Yusef and Iman were in primary school before the genocide began and need to resume their crucial early education as soon as possible.

The middle son, Abdallh is 26-years old and a lawyer. The youngest son, Mohammed is 23-years-old and an accountant.

The youngest daughter’s name is Malak. She is 16. She has not completed her secondary education and will not be able to resume her studies until she evacuates Gaza.

Everyone in Gaza, including the Abu Rass family, is hungry and thirsty due to the imposed starvation conditions, making them vulnerable to disease. They, especially the children, are frequently sick and unable to receive the healthcare or rest they need in order to recover.

Since October 7, 2023 the Abu Rass family have been displaced several times, first from their neighborhood in the north of Gaza southward, and eventually from Rafah to central Gaza. Their homes have been completely leveled. The car which Ashraf, Dana, Abdallh, Mohammed, and Malak purchased together was crushed under the rubble of their garage. Yahya’s furniture workshop was destroyed. The warehouse where they sort olives and press olive oil was destroyed. The land where they farm fruits and vegetables was destroyed. The family has lost their livelihoods, sources of inter-generational wealth, and most personal mementos.

This fundraiser is their last hope to save their lives by evacuating them from Gaza. Each family member must pay the Egyptian travel coordination company Hala approximately $5,000 to cross the border into Egypt. Additionally, Yahya's treatment for his bladder cancer is estimated to be $50,000. The family will also need $3,000 per person to replace their government ID's and other official documentation that was lost when their houses were bombed. The children, especially the youngest, need appropriate vaccinations and treatment for skin disease they have developed from living in a tent. This will cost approximately $1000 per child. Finally, the family needs funds to re-settle in Egypt and replace the basic necessities, including clothing and shoes, that they lost from the bombings of their houses.

Please help them raise the money needed to leave through the Rafah border crossing once the border reopens, provide the urgent medical treatment for Yahya’s bladder cancer, and allow them to live modestly in a foreign country after losing all their sources of income. This money will pay for their rent, healthcare, utilities, and basic necessities while they rebuild their lives.

Over the two months I have known the Abu Rass family, I have learned they are caring, intelligent, good people. I speak with at least one of them almost daily and they tell me the horrors they face living in Gaza. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for anything you can give to this fundraiser. Please share this fundraiser with your friends, family, colleagues, clubs, affiliation groups, sports teams, classmates, lovers, enemies, and anyone who you think would be able to contribute to the Abu Rass family’s evacuation. No donation is too small. No platform to share this campaign to is too small. Please consider how you would feel if your family were in the same circumstances.

Thank you,

Abby

I will be transferring the funds directly to a member of the Abu Rass family. A small portion of these campaign funds may be used to pay transfer fees, taxes, and duties. I have set the initial fundraising goal to $75,000 and will raise it to the total $150,000 when appropriate.