Short Story
United States
My name is Alison Avigayil, and I’m a Jewish peace activist. I’ve known my friend and colleague, Ayman Abu Rouk, for more than a decade. He is one of the kindest and most effective human rights organizers I have ever worked with. He co-founded Youth Without Borders (YWB) in Khan Younis, the Palestinian refugee camp where he was born and raised. For over 20 years, Ayman has worked side by side with youth in Gaza to become cultural and social entrepreneurs, community organizers, and human rights advocates. His work has touched thousands of lives.
When Israeli airstrikes destroyed both his home and the youth center he built in 2023, Ayman and his family were displaced to a tent. Instead of holding on to his last savings for the family, he used them to launch a youth-run soup kitchen in Al Mawasi. With support from international partners, they provided up to 60,000 meals a day, clean water, and safe activities for children who had lost everything. This was more than survival. It gave young people a sense of agency and hope in the middle of trauma.
Two years later, things are worse. The borders are closed to aid. The soup kitchen has ceased operations, and Ayman, his wife Khulod, his elderly mother, his sister, and his five young children—Rima (3), Maryam (6), Seewar (10), Leen (13), and Kareem (16)—are still in that same unlivable tent. Food is scarce and wildly expensive: a kilo of flour costs $50. Clean water and medicine are nearly impossible to access. They are exhausted, grieving, and on the brink of starvation. And yet, when I speak to Ayman, he still asks how I am doing.
As friends of Ayman and his family, we are raising emergency funds to keep him and his family alive. And to get them to safety. This is not charity in the abstract. This is personal mutual aid for friends who have already given so much of themselves for their community for many years.
When the border reopens, it will cost an estimated $7,000 per person to evacuate through Egypt. For Ayman’s family of nine, that’s about $63,000. We’ve set our goal to $100,000 expecting costs to balloon and wanting to have a buffer for resettlement outside of Gaza. Until that moment comes, we must make sure they have enough money for food, clean water, and medical care.
This campaign is also about connection. When you give, you are not only helping this family survive. You are joining a circle of care and friendship. Ayman himself has said:
“In the midst of this suffering, wonderful people like you give us more patience and endurance… I hope to get out of Gaza one day and meet face to face. I hope that we will sit together at one table. That will be a very nice moment in our lives.”
Immediate survival: $100 feeds Ayman’s family for one day. Every gift helps them access food, water, and medicine they cannot afford otherwise.
Safe passage: Every dollar pledged brings us closer to the border fees needed to evacuate each family member to safety.
A future beyond survival: Once safe, we will continue to walk alongside them as they rebuild their lives, heal from trauma, and return to the work of empowering others.
This is about showing up for those who have always shown up for their community. Ayman has spent his life teaching young people how to build a better world. Now we have the chance to help him and his family survive long enough to see that better world.
And know that you are becoming part of Ayman’s circle of care. Thank you.
Kirsten R
URGENT: Save Our Friends in Gaza from Starvation
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$100,000.00
Funding Goal -
$0.00
Funds Raised -
0
Days to go -
Campaign Never Ends
Campaign End Method
Campaign Story
United States
My name is Alison Avigayil, and I’m a Jewish peace activist. I’ve known my friend and colleague, Ayman Abu Rouk, for more than a decade. He is one of the kindest and most effective human rights organizers I have ever worked with. He co-founded Youth Without Borders (YWB) in Khan Younis, the Palestinian refugee camp where he was born and raised. For over 20 years, Ayman has worked side by side with youth in Gaza to become cultural and social entrepreneurs, community organizers, and human rights advocates. His work has touched thousands of lives.
When Israeli airstrikes destroyed both his home and the youth center he built in 2023, Ayman and his family were displaced to a tent. Instead of holding on to his last savings for the family, he used them to launch a youth-run soup kitchen in Al Mawasi. With support from international partners, they provided up to 60,000 meals a day, clean water, and safe activities for children who had lost everything. This was more than survival. It gave young people a sense of agency and hope in the middle of trauma.
Two years later, things are worse. The borders are closed to aid. The soup kitchen has ceased operations, and Ayman, his wife Khulod, his elderly mother, his sister, and his five young children—Rima (3), Maryam (6), Seewar (10), Leen (13), and Kareem (16)—are still in that same unlivable tent. Food is scarce and wildly expensive: a kilo of flour costs $50. Clean water and medicine are nearly impossible to access. They are exhausted, grieving, and on the brink of starvation. And yet, when I speak to Ayman, he still asks how I am doing.
As friends of Ayman and his family, we are raising emergency funds to keep him and his family alive. And to get them to safety. This is not charity in the abstract. This is personal mutual aid for friends who have already given so much of themselves for their community for many years.
When the border reopens, it will cost an estimated $7,000 per person to evacuate through Egypt. For Ayman’s family of nine, that’s about $63,000. We’ve set our goal to $100,000 expecting costs to balloon and wanting to have a buffer for resettlement outside of Gaza. Until that moment comes, we must make sure they have enough money for food, clean water, and medical care.
This campaign is also about connection. When you give, you are not only helping this family survive. You are joining a circle of care and friendship. Ayman himself has said:
“In the midst of this suffering, wonderful people like you give us more patience and endurance… I hope to get out of Gaza one day and meet face to face. I hope that we will sit together at one table. That will be a very nice moment in our lives.”
Immediate survival: $100 feeds Ayman’s family for one day. Every gift helps them access food, water, and medicine they cannot afford otherwise.
Safe passage: Every dollar pledged brings us closer to the border fees needed to evacuate each family member to safety.
A future beyond survival: Once safe, we will continue to walk alongside them as they rebuild their lives, heal from trauma, and return to the work of empowering others.
This is about showing up for those who have always shown up for their community. Ayman has spent his life teaching young people how to build a better world. Now we have the chance to help him and his family survive long enough to see that better world.
And know that you are becoming part of Ayman’s circle of care. Thank you.
Kirsten R