Serving the Community Under Fire
Voluntarily assembled, and brimming with initiative and the feeling of being one Fakhoora family, a group of 30 Al Fakhrooa Dynamic Futures’ students, had been leading their own set of initiatives over the past two months, ranging from home visits to community activities. When the latest Israeli offensive started on July 7th, the students organized themselves into teams in order to cover the different parts of the Gaza Strip.
“We are a core group of 10 main students that wanted to enhance the human and social relationships among Al Fakhoora Students, to a stand as one unified family that take care of each other. We’ve grown bigger, adding 20 students, which has been very helpful. When the Israeli offensive erupted, and movement in Gaza became even more restricted and dangerous, a group of four to five students worked together in the Southern, Middle, Gaza city and Northern parts of Gaza, inspired by common objectives.” said Ibrahim Jaarour.
Ibrahim, who is leading the group, added, “We started, based on a sense of responsibility and solidarity towards our fellow students and our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
The groups undertook a variety of activities, visiting the injured people in hospitals, particularly those of Al Fakhoora students, 12 students responded to an appeal for donating blood, visiting students who lost relatives, offering condolences, standing by students whose houses were destroyed and significantly supported Fakhoora partner organizations with the Emergency Cash Assistance program, that was launched to support 82 Al Fakhoora students who had been displaced to UN facilities or other locations around Gaza.
Ibrahim continued, “It was impossible and too risky to move while the bombardment was taking place, so we would seize the truces, which themselves were not entirely safe, and we followed the strategy laid out with each team covering a different part of the Gaza Strip. We kept in close communication and supported each other as best we could. When we distributed the money for the displaced students and their families, we believed this was the minimum we could do for those who lost everything. It would at least help them buy some basic necessities, like water, food, a blanket or some clothes.”
Ibrahim concluded, “We will continue as one team, one family, serving our people as best we can. We have our vision that the Students are first, they deserve to be served, and at the same time we will call all to be part of a large group serving their communities.”
