SPONSOR Ruby Oliver (Editor of AFO website) IN HER RUNNING OF THE MARAETAI HALF-MARATHON IN MARCH FOR RAAFAT AND HIS FAMILY LIVING IN KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA

Raafat, 19, his little sister Joud (pictured), his two older siblings, and his parents live in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis in Gaza, Palestine. They have been facing unbearable conditions after loosing their house in a bombing over two years ago now. Since then they have endured unimaginable suffering—genocide, starvation, displacement, fear, and death. They have been displaced 12 times under heavy gunfire, artillery shelling, and airstrikes. They have endured the death and suffering of friends, debilitating injuries, hunger, sickness, thirst, as well as the threat and consequence of constant military violence. And yet here you will find people who have still not lost all hope. Raafat dreams of being an architect and of becoming fluent in english, but most of all he dreams of a day that begins without fear.

Here is some of Raafat's journey of survival since October 23rd

"We were first displaced on October 7, 2023, from our hometown Khuza'a in eastern Khan Younis to my grandfather’s house in Abasan Al-Kabira. Soon after, intense bombardment struck nearby, killing an entire family of 37 people who had taken shelter in a house there. The next morning, we carried our belongings on our backs and fled under fire to central Khan Younis, following evacuation orders. We stayed in a UNRWA school shelter for more than two and a half months. One night, a strike hit displaced civilians at the school gate, killing 12 people, including children, women, and the elderly, and injuring 55 others. Later, the city was besieged, and we were forced to leave through a military checkpoint under threat, fear, and danger. We moved to Rafah, where we initially stayed in a torn tent for three days in harsh cold and heavy rain. Then we moved again under fire to another school shelter in Abasan, narrowly escaping death. On February 6, 2024, my younger sister’s birthday, the school was stormed, and we were forced to evacuate again. During that time, I was suffering from severe lung infections that later required hospitalization and intensive care. At a checkpoint, my brother Bashar was detained for three hours before being released. We moved again to Al-Fakhari, where we lived in a fragile tent for four and a half months. During that time, I returned once to our destroyed home, hoping to recover some belongings and memories. While there, we were targeted by artillery shelling. One shell landed less than 50 meters away, and I was severely injured by shrapnel in my left eye. I lost consciousness and later managed to crawl to safety under gunfire until I reached the European Gaza Hospital. Doctors confirmed I had lost vision in my left eye due to severe corneal damage and urgently needed treatment outside Gaza."

We are raising funds with the end goal of helping Raafat and his family leave the intense danger of Gaza for safety and so Raafat can access the corneal transplant that he needs. Costs to leave Gaza amount to around $36000 NZD for a family of six so that is our fundraising goal. All the money will go directly to the Rouk's to be used as they see fit, on daily survival and attempts to get to safety outside of Gaza.

Help us to achieve this goal by generously sponsoring Ruby's RUN for Raafat !! Visit @ruby.rosie on instagram to follow my training updates! And visit @i3yi3y (Raafat's instagram) to learn more about Raafat and his family!