Hi, we're Dis and Chassie and we're fundraising on behalf of a beloved friend Mercedes, who lost so many of her things in a bombing in Gaza, Palestine.

On November 19th Mercedes travelled to Gaza with several members of her community outreach team to provide emergency medical assistance during Israeli assaults on civillian areas. For two weeks she barely slept, caring for survivors of the attacks and looking after children. She gave away most of what she owned to those in need, even if it meant she went to sleep cold and had to eat glucose packets instead of a meal.

She was incredibly brave and selfless, and the night before Rafah crossing was supposed to open and Mercedes allowed to come home, the house she was sleeping in was bombed by Israeli jets. She and her friend survived and got out, but she had to have 5cm of shrapnel removed from her leg without anaesthetic, her hand was burned, and most of her remaining belongings were totally lost.

We're fundraising now to replace these things for her. Even if we didn't love her as much as we do, it strikes us as uniquely unfair that someone would do so much to help people, suffer as she has, and then be expected to foot the bill for it.

We're aiming for between $2000-$2800 to replace Mercedes phone, clothes, personal effects and to provide a buffer for any unexpected medical bills that might arise from the trauma she experienced in Palestine.

The funds will be deposited into my account, and then immediately sent to Mercedes, who has final say on how this money is spent.

We're extremely grateful to the reception of her story on Tumblr, and we really hope that same community can rally and pitch in to make her life a little easier. She absolutely deserves it.