I’m sure like me you might well feel helpless watching the horror play out in Gaza. I don’t know what t do, but I can offer a raffle and a community space to share our grief.
I’m sure, like me, you might feel helpless watching the horror play out in Gaza. While I feel helpless, I can offer a raffle and support people who have a long track record of working in Gaza. I can offer a space where we can come together to both share and express our grief.
The raffle launches today, Friday 1st August and closes on Thursday 7th August at UK time 9pm. After the raffle ends I will send an email with details about the online Keening Circle which will take place on Saturday 14th September at 7-9pm UK time.
16,000 children have died in Gaza, with the total death toll now surpassing 60,000. This grim milestone comes as Israel continues to attack aid seekers amid famine conditions in Gaza, with at least 147 deaths directly attributed to starvation.(Al Jazeera - click here for link ).
60,000 lives have been lost lost. I can’t help but think of all those lives cut short. The books that will never get written, the artists and community workers who will never inspire change. The carers and the culture shapers, the innovative ideas, the art, the tech innovators, the inventions , all these dreams which have died with the dead.
The Keening Doll
The raffle if for the doll pictured above. She is inspired by the ancient keeners, the women who helped the community move through their grief, tending to those who were dying as well as guiding the soul of the deceased home.
Doll is made from wool through needlefelting
Stands 38 cm (15 inches) tall and 20 cm (8 inches) wide
Mixed up-cycled fabrics - wool and synthetic materials
Embellishments - twig and shell headdress, driftwood staff and shell, stone with drilled hole as necklace
Online keening Circle
Grief was never meant to be experienced alone and do for every ticket purchased you’ll receive and invitation (after the raffle ends) for an online gathering - a place to share our grief and an opportunity to sit with that grief, to share your story (if you wish) as well as an invitation to move and voice your grief.
Support
Tickets can be purchased through Paypal via the link below. All money raised will be donated to Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is a UK based charity who have worked in Gaza since 2005
Reached over 900,000 people in Gaza (nearly half of them children)
Over the past year, their teams have delivered clean water, fresh food, hygiene kits, shelter items, and sanitation services to internally displaced and vulnerable populations.
They have constructed latrines, installed handwashing facilities, and carried out solid waste removal to help prevent malnutrition and disease.
‘While only limited aid, primarily food parcels, hygiene kits, and minimal water, is currently permitted into Gaza, we continue to procure and preposition supplies, support local partners and work with trusted contractors in the Strip’.
Read more about how Action for Hunger are working in Gaza here
Raffle tickets are priced at £15 (USD $20) Every penny raised in this raffle (apart from any fees Paypal might charge) and the posting of the doll to the raffle winner will be donated to Action Against Hunger.
The total amount raised will be shared
I’ll gather the Email addresses of those who purchase a raffle ticket to share the Keening Circle Zoom link. After the Zoom event in September this list will be deleted.