Help Needed Now: Gaza's Children In Need of Critical Medical Treatment, Food, Shelter & More | Our Fundraising Iftar Has Started - Join Us Now

as'salaamu alaykum 

We've started raising money at our fundraiser For Gaza's Children just now at the IC.  If you want to be a part of it and couldn't make it out tonight, please make a donation online now at launchgood.com/HelpGazasChildren. More details on the campaign and my visit on the ground are below from a previous email I sent out after returning.  If you would like to contribute via check or wire transfer, please let me know and we'll coordinate details on it.  An Important Note: Launchgood no longer has platform fees that it takes for itself alhamdulillah. 

It's zakat eligible and tax-deductible and will help save so many lives.  I wish each of you could be here to hear the stories of these children and all they are going through as well as what we are doing to help them get the support they need and deserve. Please do your part and give whatever you can.  

May Allah reward you for your efforts and generosity, especially in these blessed nights of Ramadan and give you and your loved ones only the best in this world and the best in the next.  Ameen. 

Help Gaza's Children Now | Donate Today | Zakat-Eligible & Tax-Deductible

"My lost leg is now in jannah."  This is what our little sister Baylassan who is now an amputee had to say when sharing her story mashallah. It left me feeling things that I don't have all the  words to describe, but love is definitely one of them.   

It's close to midnight now where I am as I write to you all. My day today was spent in Ankara, Turkiye, meeting with different children from Gaza who have been evacuated here due to critical medical conditions they have that need immediate attention.  Each one of them has lost so much already but they carry hope and certainty with them that they will see their loved ones again, if not in this world then amongst the shuhada in the next. 

Help Gaza's Children Now | Donate Today | Zakat-Eligible & Tax-Deductible

There are 400 families here currently and 180 more children that are about to arrive from Egypt.  We want to help as many of them as possible. When I return to the states I will share with you the story of each child that I met.  This is a right that they have and I ask you to make du'aa that I honor each child's story with love and respect. 

Children like baby Zeyad, who was found after hours of searching in the rubble of his family's apartment building that was destroyed in an airstrike, leaving him unconscious and with major head trauma while claiming the lives of everyone in the building.

Children like Bashair, a little girl who limped as she played with us because her hips were shattered down to her legs from two rockets that struck her family's home at 3AM, killing everyone including her mother who held her the whole time.

Children like Yaman Al kurdi, who ingested white phosphorus that ultimately took the lives of his siblings and left him with a tumor in his brain that doctors are having extreme difficulty removing.  

Help Gaza's Children Now | Donate Today | Zakat-Eligible & Tax-Deductible

Each child is allowed one caregiver to evacuate with them.  Some have their mothers, some grandmothers, some fathers or uncles - really whoever was left alive.  We gave them cash assistance and will inshallah provide them with homes because without permanent addresses they are not able to attend school or have a doctor assigned to them.  Our funds are also providing them with medical treatments, therapy for trauma, regular cash allowances, food, and so much more. 

There are many things that I can share with you all but I will do it inshallah when we are back together in NYC. For those who read this far, thank you.  Everyone I've met so far has expressed gratitude for our support.  Let's make sure we are deserving of that by giving what we can at LaunchGood.com/HelpGazasChildren and sharing the link with others to encourage them to give as well.   Our campaign will run through Ramadan inshallah, but the sooner we collect funds, the sooner we will be able to distribute them. 

Help Gaza's Children Now | Donate Today | Zakat-Eligible & Tax-Deductible

WHAT WE WILL BE PROVIDING
We will be sponsoring injured kids and their families who have been evacuated to Turkey for urgent medical care and surgery. Once discharged from the hospital, well be covering the following:

• Long-Term Care
• Medical Treatments & Surgeries
• Prosthetics For Amputees
• Guardian's Expenses
• Provision of Adequate Shelters For The Children And Their Families
• Providing For Their Livelihood With Food, Cash, And Other Modes Of Assistance
• Long-term Therapy

I know it's a constant concern for many of us as to whether aid is actually reaching those who are in need of it.  This is why I'm personally meeting with these children and their families.  I'm asking each of you to give what you can so that we can help as many as possible. All contributions to this campaign are zakat-eligible and tax-deductible. Please do give what you can - it will go a long way in helping out so many inshallah.  

Help Gaza's Children Now | Donate Today | Zakat-Eligible & Tax-Deductible

Barakallahu feekum - I'm so grateful for each of you and how you always come together to help people in their time of need. Please do give what you can at LaunchGood.com/HelpGazasChildren and share with others to encourage them to give as well.  May Allah reward you for your generosity and give you and your loved ones only the best in this world and in the next. Ameen.

- Khalid
                                                           
Imam Khalid Latif
University Chaplain  |  Global Spiritual Life at NYU 
Executive Director  |  The Islamic Center at NYU 
Senior Fellow & Co-Founder  |  Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership
Adjunct Assistant Professor  | NYU Wagner 
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