NNovember 3rd, 2023 was the first time I spoke publicly about Gaza, or any foreign conflict for that matter. I am embarrassed at how ignorant I was back then, I wrote uninformed nonsense like “there are no sides” and “why can’t we all just get along.” 🤦♀️
It didn’t take long for me to learn the realities of the brutal occupation Palestinians have been living under for 77 years. The more disturbing truths that I uncovered, the more I wanted to uncover and I have not stopped learning about their plight since. At first, I thought I would only be helping them and had little to gain. I mean I was risking my business, my network and devoting my time but I didn’t have a choice I thought, it is what has to be done.
No more than a month went by before I realized once again my ignorance, another powerful reminder that God is in charge. I got a lot from sharing what I was learning and spreading the truth. I found fulfillment in it. Soon I started making videos to correct the narrative. The first video I made was of the President of Israel doing his usual deceptive gymnastics but I overlayed headlines and facts and I cannot tell you how satisfying it was.
I got a lot from of sharing what I was learning and spreading the truth. I found a lot of fulfillment in this.
Mona Fawzy
In early 2024, I started getting messages on LinkedIn from Gazans who were raising funds to survive. At first it was a girl and her brother studying to be software engineers whose university was bombed. She wanted help to pay for courses. Then a few more messages as the threat of a Rafah incursion in March. They were reaching out to me because they saw me as friendly, since I was posting. Before I knew it I was getting at least 5 people reaching out to me a day. I knew I needed to catalog their campaigns. I am a software engineer so I gravitated to a website that I could promote and advertise and I also wanted to store data dynamically and build features against.
I made posters and spent a few months in Washington D.C. to raise awareness about the epidemic of displaced Gazans without basic essentials to survive and the ongoing ethnic cleansing.
Almost every single campaign listed on helpfundgaza.com is a family we speak with and contribute to regularly. I talk to them when they are able to buy flour, milk, diapers and other necessities and they share pictures. They are always so grateful for every little help.
Every time I wake up to a message of thanks from my lovely Gazan families, it fills my heart with so much joy, and it encourages me to keep helping.
We got more requests and we combined efforts with others lists from organizations like Save Gaza and Gaza Horizons, as well as individuals like Josh Paul. We catalog the campaigns digitally, collect many images and information about the families and work to provide them with resources to help meet their goals.
We started the Help Fund Gaza Slack community, a workspace for all of us to collaborate, strategize and share. With the restrictions by LinkedIn of accounts from Gaza it has become a critical tool for us to stay in connected and communicate with each other daily. We require all families on Help Fund Gaza to join the Slack community. There is a small onboarding workflow and one of the steps is to fill out a form, mostly involving questions about their campaign manger to make sure they are trusted. We then create posters, videos and additional content to help promote each campaign.
We have a few organizations who have joined us in the Help Fund Gaza Slack community and we are actively trying to collaborate and connect ourselves with other people doing critical work. Our goals today are to provide tools and resources for families to connect with donors and promote their campaigns. I want the whole world to know them like we know them. We are their supporters, donors, coaches, teachers, students, friends. I want my brothers and sisters in need to know how many of us care and love them and absolutely do not support the atrocities and injustice they are exposed to every day.
The best thing that has happened to me is starting Help Fund Gaza.Mona Fawzy
I have made many movies since the first movie and have graduated beyond iMovie. The best thing that has happened to me is starting Help Fund Gaza. As I mentioned, I thought I was helping the families but they have helped me beyond words. I don’t know where I would be this past year if they had not come into my life. Not only Gazan families but those who support them; Tauqeer, Arbenita, Rita, Hannah, Aston, Sobia, Michael, Jeremy, Amna, Sumaiya, Iva, Dave, Shirin, and the many brave, beautiful souls I would not have met had I not started speaking out.
With love, Mona.
Please visit helpfundgaza.com to learn about the families and contribute to their goals.