Education Palestine Project #18427

Brighten the Future of Gaza's Children

by Rebuilding Alliance

Project Report | Dec 21, 2016
Next steps in sending solar-powered lights to Gaza

By Donna Baranski-Walker | Founder and Executive Director

As we near the end of the year, we are so thankful to those who have contributed to the Brighten the Future of Gaza's Children project!

Good news: the Mpowered company is providing an in-kind matching grant! For every Luci Original light we send to Gaza's children, they will also send one Luci EMRG light too! This means we can ask our NGO partners to give each family three Luci Originals and a Luci EMRG for each child!

Your incredible support over this past year has allowed us to really ramp up since this project. We launched this project nearly a year ago because the daily rolling blackouts make even the simplest of tasks so difficult in Gaza. How can kids do their homework and study in the evening when the sun has gone down? Kerosene lamps and candles are too dangerous – there had to be another option.

Our first pallet of Luci Lights arrived in Gaza in April and was distributed by our Palestinian NGO partners, including Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, the Women’s Project Center in Rafah, and the Al Basma Club for the Disabled. I was able to be there to help with distribution and the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme team had me join their social workers to go with them to each family's home. Some were living in tents, some in caravans (mobile homes like in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina) while awaiting a new house. Others were in their new house already or moved-in even during construction. All had experienced terrible loss. All I had to give was our little light - and how graciously and warmly they were received and appreciated.

The second pallet arrived in June and the Al Basma Club for the Disabled managed distribution to the disabled community in Northern Gaza. This second pallet was particularly meaningful because it arrived during the holy month of Ramadan, when parents give small lanterns to their children (called a fanoos) as a reminder to be a light in the darkness. They also included all 90 families in one of the caravan parks. Back in April, we were only able to give them to 5 families and that nearly caused a riot. I kept my promise: now every family received one - a caravan park filled with light.

Our third pallet arrived in September, and the Women's Program Center in Rafah carefully and thoughtfully distributed them to children and families in need. These photos and the delightful video by photographer Mohammad Mansur are all from the 3rd shipment.

"Yes, our Luci lights are still working! We are very happy with them" reports Kareem the oldest child (now adult) in the family whom Rachel Corrie sought to protect. Kareem and his wife just had their first child.

We're placing our order now for shipment of our 4th pallet - much bigger this time: 2880 Luci Originals plus 2880 Luci EMRG. Since Israeli and Palestinian Customs had only approved the first 3 pallets, we are now applying for pre-approval for our next three pallets. The State Department and members of Congress are standing by to help if we experience any delays — so far so good.

Thank you again for supporting the Brighten the Future of Gaza’s Children project and for being a light in the darkness! Please let us know if you would like to raise money for this project by hosting a giving table with Luci Lights at your place of worship or school — or a talk at your Rotary Club. We hope to bring a speaking from Gaza in the year to come and are starting now to work through the details.

Links:

"Maram Means Aspiration"

Permalink

Jul 7, 2016
It worked- again! Luci Lights reach children in Gaza.

By Tamsin Avra | Contact Congress Coordinator

Children play with their brand new Luci light

Eid Mubarak!

It worked- again! Our second pallet of Luci solar-powered lanterns arrived in Gaza on Sunday! Though we already knew that donations of aid could be directly received by Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations, it was still such exciting and encouraging news to hear that the shipment had cleared the blockade and arrived successfully. This pallet was received by the Al Basma Club for the Disabled (ABCD), a Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization based in Gaza City. ABCD was established in early 2005 as a response to the physical and social needs of the disabled, especially youth and children.

Al Basma's team brought 300 Luci lights to 90 families whose homes were entirely demolished - they are staying in temporary homes called caravans. We had asked ABCD to distribute there because when the social workers from Gaza Community Mental Health Programme brought Donna, Rebuilding Alliance's Executive Director there in April, we could only deliver solar lights to the five families in the care of the social workers. Now Al Basma's team brought light to the other families too.

During the holy month of Ramadan, the gift of light is especially meaningful. Parents give their children a fanoos, or lantern, as a reminder to be a light in the darkness. With as little as four hours of electricity a day, this little Luci light can be a big help during this special month, when families come together to celebrate. Al Basma Club also delivered solar powered Luci Lights to their 300 members who include deaf and physically disabled people as well as the able-bodied in Beit Layha in the north of Gaza. Their team then distributed to the most needy children in the Jabalya refugee camp and they gave 250 lights to the children at the Al Amal Orphans Center in Gaza. Al Basma also shared the shipment with the Women's Project Center in Rafah, who is distributing them during the Eid celebration.

We look forward to bringing you a photo montage of Eid in Gaza, through the glow of solar-powered Luci Lights! Here is a link to a video made for us by the very talented Mohamed Monsour, who also took all the attached photos.

A big thank you to everyone who donated to send this second pallet of solar lights! We just placed the order this past week to send the third pallet of solar Luci Lights. Thank you for your support and caring — thank you for being a light in the darkness, a light of the world!

Best,

Tamsin

A girl in Gaza poses with her Luci light

At night, Luci lights the way on dark streets.

Two friends show off the lights they've received

Links:

Youtube video: Luci Lights reach Gaza families during Ramadan

Permalink

Mar 15, 2016
First pallet of solar lights now en route to Gaza! Tomorrow is GG Bonus Day!

By Donna Baranski-Walker | Founder & Executive Director, Rebuilding Alliance

Ameer's nephew: homework w Luci Light in Gaza City

Hello Friend,

Yesterday, our first pallet of 1,920 solar-powered Luci lights shipped from China en route to Gaza to Brighten the Future of Gaza's Children! It is scheduled to arrive in Ashdod on April 3rd, pre-cleared to enter Gaza.

My permit is approved too! I'll be there in April to present a paper at the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme's 6^th International conference, 'Mental Health and Human Rights in Palestine – Enhancing Resilience and Hope.' I'll get to meet some of the children and their families who receive the solar lights and bring you their stories.

Because of your help, we are sending solar lights so children can do their homework, families can cook with light, and little ones can have a nightlight when the power drops out each night. We are sending solar lights so together, we'll press officials to end the blockade of Gaza and give families a way to make a living and recover from trauma and war.

It is really exciting to hear how creatively groups are organizing events! We'll write more in our next message - but first this:

Tomorrow, Wednesday Mar. 16th, is the next GlobalGiving Bonus Day Competition. Our goal is to raise $19,200 to send the next pallet of 1,920 solar Luci Lights.
GlobalGiving will match your donation from 6 AM until 8:55 PM PST, for donations up to $1000. Global Giving is granting a total of $75,000 and they are matching all donations, all day.

Please, if you can, give again on Wednesday and please ask 10 of your friends to give too. Together, we can do this. We can send the next shipment of solar lights to brighten the future of Gaza's children!

Sincerely,

Donna, Tamsin, Christina, Henry, Andrea, Monica, Kamila, Thai, Fatma, Niveen, Lamia, Laurie, Adam and many more volunteers!

P.S. On Wednesday, all of Rebuilding Alliance's projects are up for matching funds. Please consider making a 2nd donation to support these great projects too. To see the whole list, click here.

Ameer says everyone in Gaza City is asking for one

Links:

Here's our Facebook event for the Bonus Day!

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.