In the heart of Gaza, amidst what humanitarian agencies describe as “a graveyard for thousands of children and a living hell for everyone else,” lies the story of resilience, love, and the unyielding spirit of our dear friend’s family. We - Dana Haddad and Jennifer Samaritan - are fundraising to help facilitate the evacuation of our close friend Didi Abdulabi’s extended family trapped in Gaza.

Didi’s family fled their homes in northern Gaza when evacuation orders were first issued in early October. They have been trapped in a relentless struggle for survival ever since. Seemingly overnight, their peaceful lives were shattered. Their daily activities of work and school have been replaced by an endless search for the basic necessities of life– food, water, and shelter– for themselves and their children. Their 11 children’s ages range from 8 months to 18 years old. Can you imagine having to teach your toddler to ration their food and water?

These are the names and ages of the family members:

Mansour 49

Mansour wife 44

Manar 24

Ziad 22

Ibrahim 18

Maryam 16

Manar kid 3 year old

Manar kid 2 years old

Raed 45

Heba 36

Shahd 17

Mohamed 14

Jamila 15

Hamsa 7

Mohamed 39

Abeer 29

Jude 9

Adam 6

Ziad 8 months

Like so many others, their small business (a pharmacy) and homes are destroyed and they have had to relocate several times to escape the escalating violence. They’re now living in a world where starvation is used as a weapon of war. A world where there is no safe place for civilians to shelter.

How You Can Help:

In the heart of despair lies the most profound opportunity for kindness. The costs for evacuation are astronomical, currently standing at $2,500 for children 12 & under, and $5,000 for every person over the age of 12.

Your financial support can provide a pathway to peace for four families. You can remove their barrier to safety, their price tag for survival.

Our mission is to raise $100,000 to cover the cost of evacuating 19 people ages 8 months to 49 years old. Meeting this goal is critical to ensure that family members are not separated.

These funds will be for:

Your contribution, no matter the size, will make an immediate & profound difference. You can help rewrite the future for my friend's family. Together, we can turn the tide, from despair to hope, from displacement to safety.

Note: We are attempting to minimize the amount of identifying information we share about our friend and her family. We have made this choice out of an abundance of caution for their safety, as well as for preservation of their dignity.

However, we can assure you that your money will be directly withdrawn from GoFundMe by Didi, who will transfer the money to a trusted family member in Egypt to help facilitate the transition of her family members in Gaza. We will provide as many updates as we are able via this GoFundMe page.

With immense gratitude,

Jennifer and Dana