Dear Friend,
Today we commemorate the 5th year anniversary of the official Israeli blockade on Gaza. Life in Gaza before the blockade wasn’t easy, but since 2007, conditions in the tiny overcrowded strip of land have deteriorated in unfathomable ways. With the borders sealed, the people of Gaza have endured military incursions and air strikes. They’ve been denied basic commodities including paper for books, construction materials for homes and schools, medicines for the sick and vaccines for the young. Unemployment for youth has skyrocketed to nearly 50% and the economy has been decimated. For five years, Gazans have been living in an open-air prison, and this collective punishment is destroying Gaza’s hope for the future.
Yet somehow, the people of Gaza remain hopeful. On the 5th anniversary, UNRWA asked refugees in Gaza what will you do when the blockade ends? Their poignant responses prove that while they’re physically constrained to a tiny strip of land, their hopes and dreams know no bounds.
Since the start of the blockade, UNRWA has worked tirelessly to alleviate the burdens Gazans face through programs that meet the population’s basic needs including education, health care, and food assistance, while promoting human development and lives of dignity.
UNRWA could not continue to provide these life-saving services without your support—thank you. If you would like to continue to be a part of UNRWA’s mission to protect, support, and empower the refugees of Gaza, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. In fact, a donation of just $10 a month will provide a child in Gaza with school lunches for an entire year.
Just like the people of Gaza, we cannot give up hope. So, let’s make sure Fatima, Mahmoud, Kamelia, Moujahed, and Mohammad receive the support they need so that once the blockade really does end, they can achieve their dreams.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
In gratitude,
Ambassador (Ret.) Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
Chairman, American Friends of UNRWA
Goals were shattered at American Friends of UNRWA’s first annual Gaza Solidarity 5K walk/run in Washington, DC on June 9! With warm weather and blue skies, over 300 men, women, children, and even pets from all across the US and beyond came out to Rock Creek Park to support the kids of Gaza. In total, over $50,000 was raised to support UNRWA’s Community Mental Health Program to provide summertime counseling to more than 1,200 Gazan kids in need. Check out our photos on Facebook at AFUnrwa, and watch our video on YouTube at FriendsUNRWA!
Find us on Facebook and Twitter:
American Friends of UNRWA • www.friendsunrwa.org
Donations made to American Friends of UNRWA are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Contributions to American Friends of UNRWA benefit the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).