It has been over six months since Hamas’ attack on October 7, which began another chapter in a decades-long conflict between Palestine and Israel. Israel’s response to this attack has led to a devastating humanitarian crisis that has taken a heavy toll on people in Gaza – something humanitarian aid organizations have scrambled to address.
Longwood students Collin Gilbert and Kami McLarn have been working with Longwood's Muslim Student Association to raise funds to send to World Central Kitchen and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, two non-governmental organizations operating to bring aid into Gaza.
Gilbert said, "We kind of just were upset that nothing was being done. So the two of us were just gonna do something on our own and we talked to a few faculty members here who suggested that we reach out to MSA and some other organizations."
According to the Washington Post, Israel has restricted the entrance of food and aid in Gaza, causing more than a million people to face starvation between now and July, though organizations such as the World Central Kitchen and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund have sought to ease the humanitarian crisis.
The World Central Kitchen is a not-for-profit and non-governmental organization that provides food relief during humanitarian crises and has provided meals to 42 million people in Gaza over 175 days, according to NPR. The Palestine Children's Relief Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization that provides free medical care to children in Palestine who cannot be treated in the Middle East.
The World Central Kitchen has since halted operations in Gaza following an Israeli airstrike killing seven of their aid workers on April 1.
Aliyah Abasy, president of Longwood MSA, said this was the first time anyone had approached them with the idea of fundraising. She said, "It was really cool that students actually cared about what was going on and wanted to take initiative."
Gilbert said the three of them started their fundraising efforts, including tabling, in late January. He added they stopped tabling mid-February but still spread awareness as much as they can. They provided a QR code for people when tabling and at educational events to send money to these organizations.
Gilbert said they had a hard time finding organizations working directly in Gaza to supply aid to residents. He said, "For a lot of companies that give aid, it wasn't going directly there, or it couldn't get there because it was being blocked. So we were looking at people that were already helping out there."
Gilbert, McLarn, and Absay all still promote their efforts as much as they can and use other strategies like boycotting to help spread awareness. "Boycotting costs nothing. If you're doing it within your means, it shouldn't cost you anything," Gilbert said.
As they continue their efforts through awareness and boycotting, they are still hoping to better educate people about the situation.
McLarn said, "My biggest thing was just education because I feel like a lot of people here did not understand the history behind what was happening. They thought October 7 is when everything started."
