Hi, my name is Bee from Australia and I've been asked to create this fundraiser by Alaa to provide a critical lifeline to Shaima and her family, displaced in Deir al-Balah. Please allow me to introduce them:

Shaima Ali Khaled Al-Amsi (45, mother)

Ezz El-Din Ezzat Al-Amsi (50, father)

Haitham Ezz El-Din Al-Amsi (28, son)

Ahmed Ezz El-Din El-Amsi (26, son)

Wisam Ezz El-Din El-Amsi (24, son)

Abdul Rahman Ezz El-Din Al-Amsi (18, son)

Alaa Ezz El-Din El-Amsi (23, daughter)

Malak Ezz El-Din El-Amsi (16, daughter)

(Left to right: Ahmed, Ezz, Shaima, Mahmoud in red, Wisam in yellow, other family relative on right)

We've set the goal at $1,000 to begin with as an emergency survival fund - an amount that we can send away to be withdrawn to feed Shaima's hungry children. Here's a good article about how much food costs in Gaza.

Here's her story in her own words:

"I am Shaimaa and my family consists of 9 members. Our life was full of beautiful memories and joy and we were very happy. We had a big house and we had everything from food, drink and money - until these collective dimensions came and left nothing in our lives that they did not destroy.

I moved with my family to several places seeking safety because my family is large, consisting of nine people, five boys and two girls, so we moved to Khan Yunis.

We stayed there for several months, and after the occupation entered the Khan Yunis area, we were displaced to Rafah, and then we were displaced to the Deir al-Balah area.

After we lost hope in everything, our home in Gaza was destroyed, and everything was shattered by this war, we lost the most precious thing we had: our memories, our dreams, and everything.

I am here today asking you to help me in supporting this campaign to save my family. We do not have anything and we are waiting for you to help us. Please, to save my family, please don't leave me."

How will Shaima get the money? Alaa and I have been talking, and we've decided to pool all the funds from all four of my campaigns (one, two, three, four) to meet the minimum transfer requirement to make a meaningful difference in the face of steep transaction fees. The money will be distributed exactly according to the specific amounts collected by each fundraiser. Please rest assured that I am paying close attention to the particulars, and will provide transparent updates as they become available.

In the meantime, your donation is a vote of faith in this family, an affirmation of support for their struggles in the harsh environment of a siege and genocide. I know Shaima will appreciate it, and so will Alaa.

(Why are some of the names spelled inconsistently? This is because they are not native English names. The exact vowels can often differ slightly, even when the names are written by the people they belong to.)

Shaima's Tumblr: @shaima-family

Alaa's Tumblr: @alaa-mari

My Tumblr: @soft-sunbird

This campaign is #17 in my pinned post.