The Sameer Project
@sameerproject
Followers
7K
Following
5K
Media
314
Statuses
1K
A donations based aid initiative, led by Palestinians , working to supply emergency shelter and aid to displaced families in Gaza. Collab with @translatingpal.
Joined September 2024
“Osbo’o” meaning week in Arabic is what we call the celebration of a newborn baby in Palestine. Aysal is the first newborn in the Refaat Alareer camp who was born in late November and we celebrated her arrival a week after she was born. We also celebrated Yazan and Maya’s
95
2K
8K
Despite the ceasefire being implemented today and going into full effect, and with our teams busy returning home or checking on their homes with their families, we still wanted to make sure we contributed something meaningful today. One of our team members was returning to the
19
783
2K
A lot of you have seen this clip of our mental health support initiative getting bombed, but none of you saw the full story. We were holding an mental health boost event for children at the Al-Aman Kindergarten in North Gaza. We are posting these clips to show everyone what was
13
814
1K
Resilience is a word that so many people use when describing Palestinians. As if Palestinians are super human in some way. The reality is that Palestinians are resilient because they’ve spent almost 77 years resisting and fighting settler colonization, ethnic cleansing and
38
670
1K
The images of babies frozen to death over the last few nights have been beyond heartbreaking. So we’ve been thinking of different ideas to avoid that from happening again. Noor from the Refaat Alareer camp bought a sewing machine today and will use torn cloth from the market that
26
745
947
“Please don’t forget us.” “Please don’t stop.”. Amidst the texts of joy and celebration, these are also the messages we are receiving today. While aid trucks are already starting to enter the Gaza Strip, we must remember that even 600 proposed trucks per day will not reach
11
568
891
This is the worst camp our ground team has seen. Every family in this 60 or so makeshift tent encampment needs new shelter, needs aid, is sick, and has no means to provide life sustaining basics. The camp manager is one of the only ones with an old phone. The road leading into
12
583
750
Celebrations, celebrations, celebrations 🥹. After a year and three months of absolute horror, the children of Refaat Alareer camp are celebrating the ceasefire with some kolaj (dessert). In this moment, we are not intellectualizing or planning. We are simply being. We are
9
318
610
Last week, we finished setting up 12 tents in the Isra’a camp 2 in Khan Younis. This is a huge camp that’s divided into blocks and most of the camp is in bad condition. Our team scanned the area to find the worst tents and the space to be able to set up tents. Additionally, 120
16
419
577
Ready for a behind the scenes look of the Refaat Alareer Camp with the best tour guide around!? . Shahd shows us around the camp, inside her family’s tent, the on-site medical point, the educational tent, our charging station, and more. With your help we can continue to add
6
310
544
After the horrifying event last week, we made it up to the kids 🥹❤️.
Good news! After last week's bombing next to our mental health initiative at al-Aman Kindergarten, we promised to come back and we did one week later today! Our goal to heal the children's relationship with joy after last week's traumatic event. The smiles came back to the
4
220
533
Per the ceasefire agreement, around 600 aid trucks will enter the Gaza Strip daily. While we wait for this much needed support we also understand that distribution and impact will not happen over night. This is why we will continue providing the help that is needed the most to
7
279
509
In the middle of the rain and storm, our incredible team set out to put tarps on the tents near the beach today. Tents there are in horrible condition and face intense wind. People were fighting over the 50 tarps we put up but we promised that we’ll be back with more. Each tarp
11
371
490
The joy of simple shelter, feeling of safety, protection. This was a moment of happiness from the children during our latest tent distribution. In the coming days and weeks we will be closely monitoring the number of aid trucks that enter, specifically ones that are bringing in
5
214
438
@Pal_action Well done, the UK is the reason we are colonized so we clearly need to educate them on their problematic history.
30
8
395
Yesterday, as the heavy rains fell, The Sameer Project team drove straight to the areas being hit the hardest by flooding and winds to supply them with life saving support. We gave out 87 tarps to families whose makeshift tents were falling apart. We initially put up 50 but the
13
309
415
Families are still not getting tents. Families are still not receiving tarps. And it rained today in Gaza. Despite the entry of humanitarian aid trucks the shelter situation is not improving. Whether that’s because the needed goods are not entering or large international relief
11
352
408
Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!. Shoes are extremely critical at a time like this, especially with the cold weather, rubble on the ground and the dirty water. We chose the “love camp” due to the surrounding trash and tough circumstances in the camp. We did a large distribution in the
9
232
387
Mah’aba means “love” in Arabic. But when we came across the Mah’aba Camp, the Love Camp, they were living in despair, neglect, and desperation for someone to assist them. Our team on the ground reported that it was the worst camp they have seen and we have since tried to
6
230
374
Today in North Gaza, we took another step toward supporting the dignity and hygiene of Palestinians in displacement centers across Gaza City by delivering 576 sanitary pads in packages that contained 4 packs each. These were distributed to 144 women who are enduring unimaginable
6
215
379
Fun day in the North ❤️.
Everyone in North Gaza deserves a mental health boost, and today’s modest festival in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood brought just that. From the young to the elderly, smiles lit up every face as, for a brief moment, the harsh realities around them faded away. We had clowns,
1
122
366
We’ve been busy lately! Busy sourcing and setting up tents in encampments filled with makeshift shelters that wouldn’t remain standing through the next storm. Over the last two weeks, The Sameer Project purchased 40 large waterproof tents and set up 20 so far for families in the
9
201
344
Little Yousef (8) is blind in his left eye and has heart issues. He evacuated two days ago with his little brother Bashir (2) and dad. This is a picture of Hanan, their mother, saying bye to them. Israhell denied her the opportunity to join her kids.
12
208
320
Last week we welcomed new families into The Refaat Alareer Camp. When we saw the conditions in which 9 year old Layan was living in, our team moved her and her family to the camp. Layan is paralyzed from the waist down, lacks motor skills, and has cognitive impairments. She had
6
207
338
Last week our focus was on Al As’ma camp in Nuseirat. This camp had families sleeping in torn down tents that were leaking every time it rained. Our team members toured the camp and identified the worst 11 tents to replace them and multiple tents that need tarps. These families
3
186
334
Joan is a celiac patient who is 3 years old and weighs 6.8 kilos. Her parents are extremely concerned and really got the diagnosis. Therefore, Joan and her family moved into the Refaat Alareer camp to get extra care and support from the medical point. Shortly after her
8
265
335
More of the Refaat Alareer camp residents sharing with us their feelings about the upcoming ceasefire. From joy to grief and excitement to fear, people are feelings waves of emotions. Every person in our camp, and every person in Gaza has their own story of loss, separation and
5
205
329
With famine increasing in the South, we are currently working on food distribution on a large scale. Please support us in doing that:
Children in Khan Yunis are overjoyed after finally receiving food from a community kitchen following hours of waiting in line. Their mother explains that the single meal is never enough, and once it’s gone, there’s nowhere else to turn due to soaring prices caused by the siege on
7
294
322
Yesterday The Sameer Project did a special initiative. We delivered 150 food parcels, some including fresh vegetables, to families that have severely ill members and need nutritious food to fight their diseases and survive. The Ensan camp in Deir Al Balah homes cancer patients
1
194
310
Even animals couldn't escape the suffering in the North. This is a distress call for Jabalia and all areas in the north of the Gaza Strip, including Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun. Today, our Translating Falasteen @translatingpal and The Sameer Project North campaign team went to
9
226
314
For weeks we have been warning about the heavy, continuous, ice cold rain storms that move into Gaza during the winter months. This year they held off later than usual, but January is always the wettest. This is colloquially called “arb’nia” which translates to 40 days, as it
10
260
302
Bombings near our initiatives have become a regular thing. We pray for the safety of our team and the people we serve 🤲🏽.
An Israeli bombardment today struck near the Al-Aman Kindergarten in North Gaza, where we were holding a mental health support initiative for children. The mood quickly shifted from joy and celebration to panic and fear. Thankfully, no children inside the kindergarten, whose name
4
182
303
We recently invited another family to move into our Refaat Alareer Camp for critical and vulnerable medical cases. A young mother Sabreen was left alone with three physically and cognitively disabled children after her husband was martyred in an airstrike that also set back the
4
198
296
With the beginning of a new year and our attempt to show hope to the little ones in the Refaat Al Areer camp, we collaborated with Jaber Thabet on a musical day. Sama with her beautiful voice is singing old Palestinian songs alongside Saleh, a talented Oud instructor. The
9
161
299
Rafah food distribution done a few days ago that included 20 pots of food. Each pot is enough for around 100 servings. The pots and bread distribution is Rafah cost us around $4,000. We are hoping over the next few weeks to accelerate the efforts due to price drops and more aid
8
220
288
Barefoot and running through the sand, streets, and rubble. Children in Gaza don’t even have the basics like shoes to protect them from sharp objects, bomb chemicals, and sewage. We recently purchased 100 children’s sneakers with your contributions and the help of
3
203
284
People in Gaza woke up this morning to heavy rain drowning their tents and the streets. Everyone is running around trying to collect some sand and rocks to keep the tents from flying. Most tents are leaking causing people’s blankets and few belongings to get soaked. Staying dry
6
270
280
When our team found the Mah’aba Camp none of the children had shoes. They were running around and playing in trash, pools of contaminated water, and sewage. This leaves them susceptible to rashes and diseases. The children’s feet were dirty, cut up, and blistered. We had to
6
186
283
Bakeries are still largely shut down in the North of Gaza (13.01.2025):. Today, we faced another day without bread distributions as bakeries in the north remain shut down. However, we still managed to do our regular water and food distributions:. 1) 120 kilos of cooked spiced
3
221
284
Our phones haven’t stopped ringing and inboxes are full with people asking for blankets and tents due to the storm that hit Gaza. Most of the million and a half people in the South live in tents, and most of these tents are makeshift ones that leak. We are a mutual aid group run
1
274
267
Palestinian folk songs traditionally tell stories of fishing, harvesting olive trees, of culture, and of everyday life. They also tell stories of resistance and fighting for freedom since these too have been intrinsically part of the Palestinian identity over the span of 76 years
8
133
293
Chicken for North Gaza! (23.01.2025). Today was a special day for the people of North Gaza, as chicken finally re-entered the market in a 'reasonable' price after over a year and three months of scarcity. To celebrate this, our campaign distributed 170 meals of spiced rice with
5
187
309
In North Gaza today (06.01.2025), we were very busy with our @translatingpal North team:. 1) 3-day First Aid Workshop (Yarmouk Camp):.Today marked the conclusion of yet another 3-day workshop, where 21 women, selected as representatives from each tent cluster, were trained in
4
193
264
Rain is expected again and is in the forecast overnight and into Saturday. This means tents flooding, roofs collapsing, and families along with all their belongings will be left soaking wet. Our messages and calls for assistance always increase during the rainstorms as people
5
245
257
It’s hard to put words to how we feel about the new year. Our year has been full of pain, grief, sorrow and loss but it also was full of love, community, hope and connections. Our Islamic beliefs are rooted in hope and Tawakkul (reliance on God). Ibn al-Qayyim explains, “The
7
128
254
Here's what we accomplished in North Gaza today on 04.01.2025:. 1) Mental Health Booster for Children - Al-Shafi School (video below).Today, we held a vibrant and fun-filled mental health initiative for around 150 children at Al-Shafi School in North Gaza. The day started with
6
162
250
“We are the rising Palestinian kids, living but not living, we demand rights that make us happy like the other kids”. The Refaat Alareer kids put on a beautiful show singing the above lyrics. These songs were written long before the genocide as 🍉 kids have been oppressed for
6
98
246
One year ago today, Refaat Alareer was martyred in an Israeli airstrike that also killed his brother, his sister and her family, including her 4 children, in Gaza City. One day after receiving a threatening phone call from the army, Alareer was hunted down and strategically
9
190
243
Desperation is a luxury that people in Gaza can’t afford. It’s not because they are not exhausted or not fed up or not filled with grief, it’s because they need to keep going. Our incredible team on the ground set up 28 tents in Al Ma’hba camp - the camp near the dumpster. We
2
153
243
On the coldest nights of the year, 8 babies froze to death. We worked with Dr Azal Ali to write up a brochure and raise awareness on the different methods babies could be dieing. This information was extremely valuable especially for first time young mothers. 61 packages were
1
153
249
Just hours ago, an airstrike hit a tent encampment right next to our Refaat Alareer Camp. No where in Gaza is safe. This sobering reminder was felt by the families in our camp. The missile could be heard swirling down before impact. Imagine not knowing where it will land, what
7
199
235
How do you explain avoidable death to children? How do you explain not having access to basic medication to children? How do you explain that Batoul’s death was a result of oppressive systems, governments and organizations? . The children of the Refaat Alareer Camp came together
1
164
236
In our ongoing efforts to provide comprehensive medical support, we initiated a Physiotherapy Treatment Campaign in Gaza City. This marks the start of essential therapy sessions for individuals with chronic and developmental conditions. Over the course of a few weeks, two
11
153
234
While rain water still clogs the street making them look like flooded canals, fresh clean drinking water is still difficult to find in the South. For the past 10 days The Sameer Project has collaborated with the local humanitarian group Reviving Gaza to supply 100,000 liters of
8
144
233
A question we need to constantly ask ourselves is what is the end goal of these NGOs in Gaza that are led by non-Palestinians and funded by the same governments that are funding the genocide? I’m pretty sure it’s not liberation.
5
132
259
It is with great horror, sadness, disbelief, and frankly anger that we announce the passing of one of our camp kids, sweet Batoul. With her mother Fatima and older sister Eileen, they were one of the first families we brought into The Refaat Alareer Camp. The ground team, other
11
196
228
Many people need to see Palestinians in Gaza as “heroes” or “victims” and any images outside of these two makes people uncomfortable. We are human beings. Stop limiting us to what makes you comfortable.
1
113
225
Today we were back to work in the South providing more hygiene packages to camps that really needed it the most. We concentrated on an area around a trash dump site where children and adults have to sift through the garbage and walk through sewage puddles. We brought 50
7
166
228
Skin rashes, viral diseases, and respiratory illnesses are some of the sicknesses reported at the Mah’aba Camp and surrounding tents that are bordered by a waste dump site. Children walk through the heaps of trash and there are few sanitary products and diapers for the babies.
6
192
245
750 blankets (2.5 kilos or more) have been distributed so far for our winter campaign and today we purchased 200 blankets (3.5 kilos) for $90 each so we spent $19,920. Babies are freezing to death and blankets are needed now more than ever. We’re about to hit the 1,000 blanket
4
199
223
Not the merriest Christmas but we pray that our Christian brothers and sisters in Gazza celebrate in a free 🍉 next year!.
While Christians in Gaza attempt to celebrate Christmas, the horrifying reality around them remains overwhelming. Layan Hazem Tarazi, a young Palestinian girl in North Gaza, shares her experience of celebrating Christmas amidst ongoing Israeli aggression. She recounts losing her
3
107
222
In the month of December, The Sameer Project was able to source, and with your help, purchase 48 tents that can shelter nearly 10 people each. That’s potentially 480 individuals that now have shelter thanks to your contributions. Tent prices have also gone down slightly,
5
159
218
30.12.2024 -- Here's what we achieved in North Gaza today (@translatingpal and The Sameer Project campaign):. 1) Foul Medammes with Chickpeas at Al-Shujaiyah School, we served 200 meals of Foul Medammes with Chickpeas alongside 500 loaves of bread, offering a warm and nutritious
5
146
214
A small shipment of vegetables entered North Gaza, granting us access to garlic and onions. Something so small that we often take for granted as a familiar taste and flavor. Translating Falasteen (@translatingpal ) x The Sameer Project seized the opportunity to elevate our
2
142
202
@jenjajeh GoFundMe is also closing down Palestinian accounts and froze $250,000 of mutual aid money going into Gaza.
3
56
196
It seems like the ones that have been suffering the most are the most precious, innocent, and vulnerable - babies. And their parents who despite caring for them so deeply do not have the means to supply their basic needs. While spending time in the A’asma Camp in Nuseirat, The
5
124
202
This is Mirvat. She lives in The Refaat Alareer Camp with her mother and father and two brothers. All three children have had open heart surgery and need further medical intervention. “Mimi” herself has had two surgeries and following the second one, she lost her ability to
4
150
202
More images from yesterday’s distribution ❤️. Yesterday in the North we gave out 125 cans of premature birth formula and regular formula to families with children who needed this sustenance. The team worked with local clinics that identified known cases of these early births and
10
152
198
We come across countless families who need extra support due to a severe medical case. How can they be expected to suffer through multiple displacements, have no secure shelter, minimal food and water, and care for a sick or injured child. Here is one such family who is
2
186
193
A young girl named Aseel shows The Sameer Project team the conditions she’s living in on the seashore. Tattered tent, no winter clothes, no blankets, and only 2 mattresses on the sand for 3 boys and 3 girl siblings and an orphaned cousin. Their father is trapped in the North
19
187
188
Imagine your child: sick, tired, crying in pain, and visibly suffering. But you have no idea what’s wrong or how to help. These are the battles parents face in Gaza with the lack of diagnostic testing and healthcare to treat their children with “invisible” or mystery illnesses.
3
156
194
This CYBER MONDAY, resist the urge to buy something on sale online and instead SHOP TO SAVE LIVES. You can purchase a large high quality blanket for $90, warm winter children’s clothes for $37 per outfit, or contribute towards shelter with a tent for $950. You can also supply a
8
230
193
Our work will always be dictated by the situation and where help is needed the most. Gaza has been experiencing bitter cold nights, made worse by high winds flowing from the sea over the land. Babies and the elderly have literally been freezing to death. The lack of shelter and
4
100
192
The natural terrain of Gaza, couple with the complete destruction of infrastructure leaving mounds of rubble in some areas and craters in others, creates areas prone to extreme flooding like we are seeing today durning an intense rain storm. Over 450,000 people in flood-prone
8
166
191
Our shoe campaign in collaboration with @SmallStepsDocs 🙏🏽.
In Al-Shujaiyah, where children grow up too fast under the weight of the Israeli genocide and utter devastation, we brought something they all need: shoes. Earlier this week, we met with families who have lost everything, gathering the names and sizes of children orphaned by the
7
121
186
Throughout the genocide, medical staff and humanitarian workers have gone into Gaza for weeks at a time to provide care. Every single one talks highly about the hospitality of Palestinians in Gaza. This video is a prime example of our team touring a camp when a man overheard our
3
94
187
While waiting for the ceasefire announcement, our initiatives kept going. Two days ago, 580 pieces of bread were baked by 12 women in Rafah. Eight pieces were given per family providing bread for 72 families. Rafah is outside of the “safe zone” so getting food there is
3
128
180
So apparently @gofundme froze money for dozens (if not hundreds) of 🍉 accounts for mutual aid in Gaza but they’re comfortable with accounts from the IOF raising money for arms.
3
154
167
Please support the North campaign, where we continuously do such initiatives and distribute water and food on a daily basis:. @translatingpal.
Another 3-day First Aid Workshop concluded in North Gaza, this time at Yarmouk Camp, where we trained 21 remarkable women who were carefully selected as representatives from 21 tent sections we divided the camp into. These representatives were chosen based on their active roles
3
174
178
Milestone: 3 Million Liters of Water Delivered in North Gaza. Today (12.01.2025), the @translatingpal x The Sameer Project North campaign reached an incredible milestone: 3 million liters of fresh, drinkable water delivered to Northern Gaza since mid-June 2024. This life-saving
4
99
174
East Khan Younis remains an area that is difficult to reach and lacks consistent aid distributions. The residents have access to gas and firewood but no food packages are delivered so sustain them. The Sameer Project had planned to deliver prepared hot vegetarian meals to tent
4
111
171
How do we adequately convey what we are feeling right now in a perfectly worded post on Social Media. The tremendous relief, immediate sadness, the fright of actually being required to process and acknowledge the loss and destruction. The rage and questions of why, WHY? HOW WAS
4
112
174
With rain comes flooding. With flooding comes runoff of raw sewage, garbage, and chemicals from bombs directly into families’ tents. Four stormwater basins across the strip, which are mixed with sewage, are at high risk of overflow. This will increase the spread of disease,
8
195
169
Wow what an incredible two weeks for the South campaign 🥹❤️. Thank you for your incredible donations! In December alone we raised £154k which allowed us to speed up our work especially with the cold weather. We've achieved so much since December 27th, including:. - The Mah'ba
2
136
169
We asked you what we should provide for our next distribution. You said warm winter blankets. We listened. Our team sourced 150 thick, high quality, large blankets to keep families warm in the upcoming months. We will be purchasing soon and distributing them to areas that
5
150
161
🚨URGENT REQUEST FOR SUPPORT🚨 . Don’t look away. What we are witnessing are incomprehensible horrors. The airstrike at Al Aqsa Hospital has left at least 4 dead and more than 70 wounded, and 30 families with nothing as their tents and belongings were burned to the ground. The
9
246
155
29.12.2024 - Here's what we achieved in the North of Gaza Today:. 1) Bread Packages – Al-Shifa Hospital Area.Today, our team delivered 105 bread packages to families near Al-Shifa Hospital. 2) Fava and Chickpeas Dish (Msabaha) – Yafa Displacement Center.We distributed 200
4
105
157
Our North @translatingpal x Sameer Project campaign accomplished 40,000 liters of water distributions 💦 and a food distribution 🍲 today! . - 14,000 liters in central Al Zaytoun.- 5,000 liters in East Al Zaytoun.- 6,000 liters in East of Al Tuffah.- 5,000 liters in central
3
106
160
Our team in the North just love making these videos 😂. Please support our North initiative:
5
120
155
North Gaza Initiative summary for today 09.01.2025:. 1) Fun-filled Day for Children.Today, over 130 children at Al-Zahra' Camp enjoyed a day of joy and laughter. Activities included dancing, singing, games, contests, and face painting. Each child left with a toy or fun accessory,
4
100
155
Pregnant Women Essential Care in North Gaza: Today marked the 13th day of our Mobile Medical Point, set up in Qurban Camp, which shelters displaced families from Beit Lahia and Jabalia. With 40 women participating in the program, we began with basic health checks: blood
5
130
151
Even the severely wounded are discharged from hospitals due to overcrowding and the lack of medical supplies. This makes follow-up care virtually impossible as patients are sent to recover in their tents. In the unsanitary conditions created by life in encampments, these wounds
4
125
154
This past week, in preparation for a small gathering at The Refaat Alareer Camp to celebrate the birth of a baby, the women made a traditional dish, enjoyed only in Gaza. Samakieh (سماقية) is a type of stew eaten with bread to scoop it up. Ground sumac is mixed with water and
4
87
149
Understanding that the hospital system is overburdened and medical help is difficult to reach, The Sameer Project team set up a tent in Al-Mawasi for patients in this area to visit for non-urgent or emergency needs. Wound dressing changes, small lacerations, mild illnesses, and
4
130
147
Our babies are freezing to death … literally!.
The child Jumaa Al-Batran was just one month old when he tragically lost his life due to the freezing cold that engulfed the tent his family lived in on the beach of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. Source: abdalhkem_abu_riash, alaa_hamouda2 (IG)
5
86
142
24.12.2024 - North Gaza - Here's what we accomplished today @translatingpal:. 1) Fruit for North Gaza’s Families. Today, our team in the North delivered 220 kilos of fresh fruits to families at Al-Shafi Displacement School in North Gaza. This is the first time in over 14 months
7
93
143
A living nightmare. Since the announcement of the ceasefire’s implementation in the coming days, at least 50 martyrs have been counted over night in Gaza City alone. In years and “wars” past, the last few days before a designated secession in aggression were some of the most
5
108
144