***Words from Mohammed edited for clarity and some words spelled differently throughout to prevent flagging/censorship.
A note on photos: We know many people in the West like to see photos to identify who they are supporting. Many people in G@z@ do not have consistent access to electricity to charge their phones, lack consistent internet, or have lost or damaged their phones. Mohammed's lack of photos does not equate a lack of authenticity or verification. Read ahead for our verification process.***
"I am Mohammed Al-Aqraa and I am from G@z@. There are 8 people in my family: Adi, who is 19 years old, {me}Mohammed, who is 18 years old, Khaled, who is 15 years old, Rahaf, who is 14 years old, Sami, who is 11 years old, Yousef, who is 8 years old, my mother, who is 38 years old, and my father, who is 40 years old and has a mental illnesses. Please help me so that I can bring him medicine and take care of my family."
"
~Mohammed, age 18, G@z@
My name is Renn Simmons and I am a climate artist, mental health worker, and an organizer with a small mutual aid group called Portland Spiritual and Creative Integrity Collective based in Portland, Oregon. We are fundraising on behalf of Mohammed and his family, all of whom are in dire need of help.
We have been fundraising for several families in G@z@ that connected with us through our Instagram account, and have been rapidly expanding our endeavors to try to create fundraisers and community initiatives to help as many families as we
are able to.
We have done our best to be as intentional, kind, and thoughtful in creating a verification process for the families we are connected to, which includes asking if someone has a form of identification, can send photos of themselves and/or have a video chat with us, and/or can be vouched for by another friend or family member of theirs. Mohammed was verified through the latter, and we are in frequent contact with him as he updates us on his family's day to day life and experiences.
Right now, Mohammed's family's s biggest needs and concerns are buying medication for his father who experiences a mental illness, and having money to buy clean water and fresh food.
All resources in G@z@ are incredibly expensive. Here are some of the market prices right now:
2 pounds / 1 kilogram:
Apples: $20
Oranges $20
Onions $15
Potatoes $15
Chicken $40
Combined in total, these expenses accumulate to around $3000 or more monthly for Mohammed's family, which means that we need 150 people a month to contribute $20 or 75 people to contribute $40 a month. Please consider being a monthly contributor. We are working hard right now to finalize a this formulaic approach to fully funding families in G@z@, so please message us if you would like to a part of Mohammed's permanent funding group to get more information.
Our hope is to always try to connect families in G@z@ with as many other on-the-ground organizations as possible, but we are seeing more and more that getting aid from these groups is sometimes impossible and very dangerous in terms of traveling
to find these groups and actually connecting with these groups in the first place. While NGOs still offer some forms of aid on the group, many of them continue to have their aid compromised, stripped, halted, or destroyed before getting into G@z@, so he only actual guaranteed form of support right now is often direct donations.
Donating directly to Mohammed and his family is truly the only way right now we can ensure that their specific needs are being met and that they do not have to make dangerous trips to risk their lives beyond what they are already
experiencing to search for aid groups.
Please consider donating what you can, sharing his story with your circle, and amplifying his fundraiser in order to support Mohammed and his family while they continue to fight to stay alive. No amount is too small to help.
Together we can give Mohammed's family the dire support they desperately need and deserve.
All donations over $10 will receive a digital print from my website at rennsimmons.cargo.site. Just take a screenshot of your donation and message me here on GFM with the subject "Prints for Pal."
With Gratitude,
Mohammed, Renn, and PSCIC
