WANNers seek your help to support their futures

Writers and mentors with We Are Not Numbers have created fundraising campaigns for community and individual efforts to survive and thrive during and post the bombing of the Gaza Strip. Please contribute as you are able.

Red keffiyeh with text, The whole world supports Palestine. — Artist: Raffi Marhaba. Courtesy of the Palestine Poster Project Archives

Please note that all these opportunities to provide food or help displaced families involve WANN writers and/or mentors but are optional, extra volunteer efforts and are neither sponsored by, endorsed by, or vetted by WANN itself as an organization.

Why are we listing fundraising campaigns?

As a mentoring organization, we understand that it is very difficult for our writers to document and report the realities of their lives if they are hungry, thirsty, poorly sheltered, under fire, and physically and emotionally ill. We also believe that young writers who find strength and safety, either inside or outside Gaza, will be able to continue building their education and skills so that they can contribute back to the eventual rebuilding of their homeland.

Caveats

Donations to campaigns for seeking safety in Egypt may be used to help pay “coordination fees” and other unjust fixer fees.

People who leave Gaza may be at risk of not being able to return anytime soon.

Personal campaigns can lead to false hopes and put individuals at risk of being scammed.

There are no easy answers to the questions surrounding individual fundraising campaigns. Please think seriously and knowledgeably about how you lend your support to young Gazan writers during this unimaginably difficult time.

Community Projects

Repower Gaza

A WANN initiative, supported by the Middle East Children’s Alliance, to purchase solar power equipment already located inside the Strip and redeploy it to immediately restore power to WANNers, their extended families, and their neighbors.

Provide a Meal for Displaced Gazans during Ramadan

A WANN initiative to to provide food parcels to WANN writers, their families, and others in the displacement camps in the north and south of the Gaza Strip during the month of Ramadan. Depending on the funds received, the project will expand its reach to additional areas.

Gaza Scholarship Fund for Displaced Students

A coalition of individuals, including WANN mentors, are working to match undergraduate and graduate students from the Gaza Strip (including several from WANN) with scholarships so they can continue their education. This initiative has already secured placements for 12 students at U.S. schools; arrangements for more placements are underway at schools in the U.S. and other locations around the world. The initiative need to raise tens of thousands of dollars to assist students with travel expenses so they can reach their place of study and to cover the gaps between scholarships and full funding (e.g., fees, books, room and board, living stipend).