Hello again, 

I would like to thank you for your support. Over 160 donations to date and without you all, this would have remained just a  rather hazy idea…

The situation in Gaza 2.5 years on gets progressively worse. Aid is still very limited despite Israel's commitment to increase the amount brought in. 

The Ceasefire has brought little apart from 600 more bodies to bury into the ground. The bombing continues regularly as do the drone killings.. 

Much of the population still relies on fundraisers organised from overseas. They often receive little any more because those giving  long term have emptied their pockets and the rest of the world has turned away. 

Most are therefore just struggling to  exist.  They have been left with nothing - living in  overcrowded  rat-infested squalor with sewage systems and water plants destroyed by the Occupation. It is  reaching a point now where a  health CATASTROPHE is highly likely. 

There is no work, no schools remaining  and hope is dwindling for the future.

For now I need a break!  Very long hours almost every day. It is frequently emotionally draining to deal constantly with people so desperate. However I have been lucky to find  excellent  community minded people on the ground,  who will advise if necessary, check on families and give me feedback. Like everyone else in Gaza, they are suffering so I treat them as a precious resource.

A small effort to help just a few infants temporarily last summer has now,  ten months on grown both in scope and the numbers of babies reached (up to 20)

However, organising this  initiative does not allow me the time to source the level of  funding needed, which at my recent rate of spending is equivalent to at least EUR 2000 p/m.  I will be looking at options so I can continue because the need in Gaza is overwhelming!

When talking to the mothers, I often discover that older children in the family have not eaten for a day or so, let alone the parents. Maybe there is an elderly person cold and needing a blanket or a tarpaulin is required to help keep the rain out of a leaking tent.  There are so many small deprivations to endure, let alone the really big ones. 

I know of a number of families in this situation who are supplied milk and have nothing or very few donations in their fundraisers. They are living 'right on the edge'. I also provide to families where the husband has been killed or taken away by the Occupation Forces, now likely dead or being tortured in Israeli prisons. The mothers then are left vulnerable to just struggle on their own.

It is this group of families that I want to boost a little so they have just a little security, can continue to purchase formula milk plus a few of the essentials of life.

I would be so grateful if you could help here.  Any amount received I will share out and send to these families according to need.

Thank you all so much for believing in this. Yes, it is a small  venture in an ocean of deprivation  but I feel I've been able to make a  difference. 

Sarah

XXX 

Thanks to you all for your support so far. 

It would be wonderful to say  that the situation is improving in Gaza. However two years on, it's now worse than it's ever been! 

The Ceasefire gave everyone hope, it also sent a message to the world things are beginning to normalise.  So attention towards Gaza shifted away and donations plummeted to almost nothing.

Aid flow is limited and the most urgent items generally don't get to the people at all - formula milk, blankets, tents, tarpaulins  This is intentional and planned carefully by Israel to weaken and curb the population.

Winter storms have been fierce with torrential rain, high winds & flooding and it  is now very cool at night. Living in damp damaged tents with few warm clothes or blankets, hypothermia is a constant danger. Babies, the most vulnerable of all, are now dying with sickening regularity. 

There is little sign of the large organisations, but an army of volunteers from all over the world seem to be the first stop for many. We discuss online, help each other wherever possible,  but everyone is overwhelmed by the unrelenting need. We have all put in so much of our own money/ time but can only make a dent in this never ending misery.

I'm almost out of funds so working as hard as I can to find more support.

I have multiple mothers depending on me to provide milk for their infants (+/- 14 babies) and I know from messages, many others can't afford to buy milk even though it is much cheaper than before. These babies will be getting hungry and it is  worrying because malnutrition is already  widespread.

I am working with a group (Instagram•ShelterFeedGaza) that can source milk much cheaper with  bulk orders and it is delivered to my mothers all over Gaza  by their  small team.  I pay an extra USD5 on the cost of  a 400g carton USD15, so USD 20 in total. 

An infant < 6 mos consumes 2+ cartons p/w so the cost is still too high for many. The payment for delivery helps these young men provide for their families. Also the small profit (ShelterFeedGaza) makes from the sales allows  for provision of  housing (tents) and care for many orphans of this Genocide. This financial arrangement benefits the people and doesn't line the pockets of traders.

Delivery of formula milk  is really a logistics operation from hell!  My orders will simply include the name / phone number and area where the family lives. (Nuseirat, Gaza City, Deir-al-Balah…)  But there are no addresses anymore, roads have appeared  out of nowhere and there is little infrastructure remaining. 

Al Muwasi Camp for example is home to a large part of Gaza's  population  (2 millions) because families were forced south during the recent bombing campaign and have been forced from the East because the Occupation Forces have taken over half of Gaza with their ever encroaching Yellow Line.

Despite the challenges and using just phones, the delivery somehow happens and milk gets to where it is supposed to at the end of the day! 

 A donation would be wonderful  but getting  awareness of this  out into communities is really necessary  as well.. My reach will always have limits! Please tell others /groups that may be willing to support this.

Thank you again  for your continued support with this initiative.

Sarah X

Hello.

Thank you for your support. I’ve been really encouraged and reinforced by the response so far. This is to update you on how the campaign is going.

There’s a ‘ceasefire’ in place, however history tells us this will be broken at some point and the Genocide will continue. Israel’s final goal to empty Gaza of its people has not changed. Aid is now flowing but for how long? A colder stormy winter is approaching with a starved and weary population still living in worn-out tents! The outlook is bleak and babies still need feeding!
 

So far I have been able to provide funds ongoing to six families with small infants. They simply contact me ahead of when they need more. I’ve also sent money for milk to other families for older babies with specific health issues.

I still see enormous need that can’t be met in the short term, so I will continue to feed as many small babies as funding allows.

The condition of infants I find varies considerably. Many mums aren’t well nourished enough to breastfeed if at all, and the price of formula milk still in the markets is often well out of reach. There are posts all over social media asking for donations to buy a container of milk. Some are lucky but many are not and these babies get more malnourished as time passes. They cry continually for food. The few I can feed are luckier than most as they will continue to receive milk as needed.

Families who have been trapped in the north around Gaza City have recently emerged often with very malnourished infants. Anywhere else in the world they would be hospitalised, but the few hospitals still standing can barely cope with the victims of airstrikes so this is often not possible now. The risk of “Refeeding Syndrome” always requires caution when formula milk starts again after a period of starvation. I've been lucky to have my brother-in-law, Moin Saleem, a paediatrician in Bristol available, whenever I've had concerns about  the welfare of a baby. 

If you have the means, please make a further contribution but more important is to share this campaign to others in various ways, so it gets a life of its own and keeps moving. 
 Many thanks

Sarah