Help the Abu Raida family survive genocide in Gaza

My name is Sarah Mauldin. I have known the Abu Raida family for 14 months now and they have become my dear friends. The parents, Sonia & Ayman had a farm in Khuza’a, a town near Khan Yunis, in which the kids also worked. But the town became unsafe very early on, so they have not had their main source of income for some time. This is a proud family, who never expected to have to rely on donations to survive. But here we are. 

A little about 3 of the siblings with whom I’ve become closest: Rawan, the only sister with 5 brothers(!) actually graduated as a nurse, just days before Oct 7th. Ziad, the youngest of the bunch just recently turned 6. He loves chocolate and fruit and of course his older siblings. Tamer turned 16 and Tawfiq has turned 18. They both love soccer and their idol is Argentine soccer player, Lionel Messi. Tawfiq desperately wishes he could finish his last year of school. 

Since the start of the genocide in October they have been displaced time and time again. Because the IOF purposely leaves them very little time to evacuate before an invasion, they typically have to leave their tent and cookware behind. The family has had to spend numerous nights in the crowded streets with countless infectious diseases spreading, including Polio. 

Our long term goal is to evacuate the family to Egypt. The prices for permits vary depending on how much officials think they can make off Gazan’s desperate to survive, but were most recently $10,000 per adult and $5,000 per child. But at the moment, all donations are being used for basic survival purposes. It’s been 11 months, and the family could only carry so much on foot. And because of inflation, the cost of everything is higher than normal. We are trying to keep up with the costs for food and water, and medicine and clothing when needed. And a replacement tent for when they are have to quickly leave their tent

and cookware behind.

Gofundme requires me to provide the full names and birth years of all adult family members: Tawfiq Ayman Abu Raida (2006) Bilal Ayman Abu Raida (2002), Rawan Ayman Abu Raida (2000), Muhammad Ayman Abu Raida (1999), Ayman Tawfiq Abu Raida (1973), Sonia Muhammad Abu Raida (1976)