Our photo (above), taken by Mohammad Mansour, was selected as a finalist in Global Giving’s 2016 Photo Contest! This picture was taken while the first pallet of Luci Lights that we sent was being distributed at the Women’s Project Center in Rafah, Gaza. If we win the competition, we will put the prize money towards sending another pallet — our hope is that we can give a light to every child in Gaza, to help them and their families cope with the difficulties of daily power outages.
Voting is easy — just click this link to find our photo. Then, check your email to confirm your vote! We love to see photos of the children that are receiving the Luci Lights, it is a great reminder of how important this project is.
Thanks for your support, and don’t forget to vote this week!
Best,
Donna
Brighten the Future of Gaza’s Children
by Rebuilding Alliance
Story Reports Photos Share
Summary
Help send solar-powered lights to the children of Gaza so they can do their homework at night when the electricity goes out. We found a way to ship pallets of Luci Lights, personal solar lanterns, through the blockade to Non-Governmental Organizations in Gaza, working with them to distribute to children and families in need. This is a precedent-setting initiative that will empower Gaza's next generation, and tell their stories, help open the blockade, and bring hope and safety to all.
$134,390 total goal
$17,637 remaining
774 donors
4 monthly donors
1 year active
Challenge
Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip live in darkness every day. Electricity is limited by the 10 year-long blockade. Now the power plant is shut down, giving families only 4 hours of electricity in each day. When the lights go out, everything stops. Nightly tasks become impossible without dangerous kerosene lamps or candle flames. Imagine being a student and not having light to finish your homework, or a little child without a nightlight.
Solution
With your help, we are delivering thousands of solar-powered Luci Lights to children in Gaza so they can read and study. Rebuilding Alliance successfully shipped containers of school supplies & clothing, so we learned how. On Mar 14, our 1st pallet arrived at Gaza Community Mental Health Programme for distribution to children in need and their families. On Jun 22 our 2nd pallet arrived. US State Dept, Senators and Representatives are helping. Please help send more lights to children in Gaza.
Long-Term Impact
Let's use compassion to open the blockade. As more people help, we will send more pallets of lights. Your support will equip Palestinian kids to take more control over their future, and raise awareness about power shortages in Gaza. We hope these solar night lights will help ease the ongoing post-traumatic stress of the near-constant shelling in 2014. Ultimately, this project will play a role in ending the occupation and encourage policy makers to help Gaza's families recover and rebuild.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).
Resources
http://www.rebuildingalliance.org
Impact of Gaza's Fuel Crisis One Year On – UNOCHA
About Luci Lights by mpowerd.com
Charting a New Course in Gaza
Here's our YouTube Video about this project!
Rebuilding Alliance
Location: Burlingame, CA – USA
Website: http://www.rebuildingalliance.org
Project Leader:
Donna Baranski-walker
Executive Director
Burlingame, CA, United States