[W4G] $10,000 Matching Campaign for The Sameer Project

NEW MATCH! 9/22: The wonderful people at Refaat Mobile Library—a traveling, volunteer-operated liberation library and mutual aid project based in what is currently known as Atlanta, Georgia—have stepped up to offer a new $5k match. 

That means $5,000 ---> $10,000 for The Sameer Project!

All funds collected here will be sent to the Sameer Project's urgent new Mass Dispacement Response Campaign. 

From the The Sameer Project:

Do not let history repeat itself…

We are witnessing a historically tragic, a historically cruel, a historically criminal, moment that is enabling the ETHNIC CLEANSING of Palestinians from the North of Gaza. It has been 77 year since the Nakba - the “catastrophe” - that led to the dismantling of Palestine, the dispossession of land, the theft of property, and the attempted fracture of the Palestinian identity by zionist forces. The images are similar, hoards of people forced to flee under threat, in duress, with no where to go. But today the reality is even more dire as airstrikes and quadcopter rain terror on a tired, starved, and depleted population. The North is being leveled, with one objective in mind - expanded occupation, total takeover. ETHNIC CLEANSING. 

For weeks we have been praying and advocating that a mass displacement of over one million people from the North of Gaza to the South of Gaza doesn't take place. We have been supplying life sustaining essentials in the form of water, food, and medication, to give those who were steadfast in the decision to stay, a means for survival. At least 1,000 meals enough to feed 3,000 people are distributed per day in the North, as well as an average of 200,000 liters per day to support the people choosing to stay or those who can't afford to leave.

Unfortunately, devastatingly, the displacement started end of August and has increased drastically in mid-September as we see families with no other option pack up and attempt to move South. The North is now under a complete evacuation order by the zionist and occupying criminal military. They are bombing crowded areas, entire neighborhoods, so thousands of families are now heading South - not because they want to, not because they believe there is a safe “humanitarian zone” awaiting them, but only because if they do stay, they will certainly die. Civilians under threat, being killed, for an occupying power’s military objective.

The Sameer Project has been working on an emergency plan to accommodate families in a “worst case scenario”. We were hoping this was unnecessary and all the work we did would be diverted to other needs, but it has now become evident that sadly the plan we executed will now be necessary and used for those displaced from the North….

THE EMERGENCY PLAN

• Expansion of the Refaat Alareer Camp: Previously our one and only camp organized for vulnerable medical cases could only accommodate 40 families. WE NEEDED MORE SPACE. We expanded the land by renting the parcel next door and added another 5,000 squared meters. Now the camp can accommodate approximately 100 families in tents, each tent a maximum of 10 people, and we have plans to add a larger medical point and larger school, replacing the current facilities that we have. We are accepting critical medical cases that should be under observation but have been prematurely evacuated from hospitals.
• Batoul Camp: Around 16 families from Refaat Alareer Camp are now considered rehabilitated and medically stable. But with the ever-changing and dire conditions we didn’t want to ask families to leave the camp, relocate, and forfeit aid which would have caused panic. So The Sameer Project rented a 3 donom piece of land opposite the Refaat Alareer Camp to take the relatively stable families that have become  part of our community at Refaat Alareer Camp. We also opened some spots for families who had previously been in Refaat Alareer Camp but returned to the North during the calm of the ceasefire. All the families in the Batoul Camp will continue to use the medical point in the Refaat Alareer Camp and the children will continue to go to the educational point as well. FOOD AND WATER will be provided daily.
• North Team Camp: the Translating Falasteen x The Sameer Project ground team has around 55 full-time team members from the North. They have been working tirelessly with us for over a year, risking their lives daily to serve their communities. This land is about 7,000 meters squared and right next to the Refaat Alareer Camp so that these team members and their families have places to set tents without the stress of searching for a spot on land, allowing them to focus on providing aid and support to the community. Bathrooms and water tanks will be installed.
• Sawarha Medical Point Camp: the Translating Falasteen x The Sameer Project team operated a medical point that provided primary medical care, wound change, physiotherapy, and dental care in the Gaza City Port Camp in the North. Now, we anticipate the tent needing to be dismantled and moved. We secured a plot of land, 8,000 meters squared, that will take the medical point, host the medical team (doctors of different disciplines and nurses - 12 families). This land will also accommodate the Civil Defense relocating south - team members, their families, and ambulances. This will be the launch point of rescue missions in the Central area. Finally we will also place 15 tents of the sick and injured, patients that would benefit from a 24 hour medical staff on site as well as ambulance services. Children will use the educational tent at Refaat and the medical points will collaborate on cases. FOOD AND WATER will be provided daily.

Simultaneously we are planning to provide toilets, fencing, tarps and supplies to other camps in the Central area and South of Gaza, especially the new camps for those displaced from the North with little to no facilities.

CALL TO ACTION

We need approximately $750,000 amount to get all these camps fucntioning. We are homing the most vulnerable, the sickest coming from hospital overflow, medical staff, aid distribution team members, and the Civil Defense who risk their lives to rescue civilians. With YOUR SUPPORT we can provide a stability and relative comfort, as well as medical care, education, food, water, and additional needs to this population.

We typically pay 45% commission to cash agents in Gaza to withdraw cash - this is due to lack of cash and goods coming into Gaza and a consequence of 5 months of zero trucks going in. For bank transfers, we pay 7% to our fiscal host, Social Change Nest (https://thesocialchangenest.org/), who receives all the donations, does due diligence and sends the money in large amounts to business accounts in Palestine. The additional 4% is a fee charged by the large business accounts that receive money on our behalf and then do our payments. In some cases, we are able to send money directly to the merchant, so we only pay 7%. The co-founders and team on the ground try to find the best deals and do quality assurance on all our purchases. DISCLAIMER: commission prices for cash might vary slightly and the prices listed here are the best quotes we got but we are hoping to push down some of the prices and use the remaining money to serve other camps with tarps, water barrels, toilets, and more. Also, some quotes like the Sawarha water barrels and cost for new educational point have not been received yet.
 
The Sameer Project needs URGENT FUNDING for:

• Rent for the Four Camps: The details of the camps is mentioned above. For the Refaat Alareer Camp, the extension costs $3,500 per month with 11% commission. The Batoul Camp costs $3,000 per month, the North Team Camp costs $5,550 per month and the Sawarha Medical Point Camp costs $3,600 per month. All of these have an additional 11% commission so total per month for extension of Refaat Alareer Camp and 3 new lands with comission is $17,316.
  

Price for 3 Months Rent ---> $51,950

• Sturdy Large Tents: Average range is $285,000 - $300,000 for 250 tents. One tent costs on average 3,400 shekels and is a sturdy new Qatari or Emirati tent that fits 6-8 people so the price with 11% commission for bank transfer is $1,136 but unfortunately some tents can only bought cash with 45% commission so the average for that is $1,484. We mostly get tents on bank transfer so our average relies more on the 11% and sometimes 7% only.  Additionally, 2 large field tentst (8x4) will be bought and 5 rooms built for Sawarha medical point and amulance point at the cost of $23,588 with 11% commission. These tents are bought from people who stored tents and now sell them at inflated prices and bulk purchasers are from war profiteering traders who hoard tents until displacements then sell for high prices. The looting of these tents is supported by the military occupation and no tents have entered since February 2025 so this chaos and profiteering is all by design.

Price for 250 Tents ---> $316,088

• Land Preparation: This typically involves three aspects:
  • Fences: The Refaat Alareer Camp extension requires 150 meters of fencing which includes $321 cash including 45% commission and $5,607 with bank transfer so it includes 11% commission. Total would be $5,920. Batoul Camp fencing was all bank transfer with 11% commission at $4,306. For North team camp, all would be paid with 11% commission at a total of $12,810. Finally, the Sawarha medical point camp fencing will cost $9,607 with 11% commission.
  • Leveling the Ground: This involves getting a tractor to flatten the ground then adding sand in preparation for the rain and winter so that the ground doesn't get too muddy. For Refaat Alareer camp extension this requires 3 truckloads of sand and 3 hours of leveling work, and the cost would be $434 cash including 45% commission and $8,473 with bank transfer so it includes 11% commission. Total would be $8,907. The Batoul Camp will take 3.5 hours for leveling and will be paid via bank transaction with 11% commission at total of $3,643. For North team, 6 truckloads of sand are needed and 3 hours of leveling for $17,633 with 11% commission. Finally, the Sawarha medical point took 8 hours of leveling and 2 truckloads of sand for a total cost of $12,589 with 11% commission.
  • Cement & Pebbles for Bathrooms: Adding cement under the bathrooms in preparation for the rain. The cost would be paid via bank transfer so 11% commission which is $2,127 and a small amount cash to move the cement and pebbles with 45% commission which is $65. Total would be $2,192. For Batoul Camp, the total for this would be $1,170 with 11% commission and a small amount cash to move the cement and pebbles with 45% commission which is $65. Total would be $1,235. For North team camp, the cost would be $2,784 with 11% commission. 
  • Water Barrels: Plumbing and 2 large barrels of water for Batoul Camp cost $2,188 including 45% commission for cash and $555 with 11% commission - total $2,743. For North team camp, plumbing would cost $1,672 all paid in cash with 45% commission and 5 large barrels of water would be purchased with 11% commission totaling at $7,225. 
    

Price for most of the Land Preparations (4 Camps) ---> $93,266

Note: awaiting quotes for few more expenses - probably costing $10,000 more

• Bathroom Preparation and Installation (45 toilets): There are two key types of toilets in Gaza: wood and metal. For the camps we are preparing, we will purchase metal toilets as they are more sturdy and last longer, and many of our camps have wheelchair users and people with disabilities so these toilets are more convenient. Unfortunately metal is VERY hard to find so we started looking for this a few weeks ago. Also, all the camps require sewage wells and manual plumbing as there are no proper sewage systems so these wells are dug and get emptied regulary.
  • Refaat Alareer Camp Extension: Total cost for the wells for extension would be $2,493 and 4 units of bathrooms (3 toilets each) would be purchased 20% in cash and 80% in bank transfer so total of $40,870 and we found 1 unit of toilets from another contracter which is slightly more expensive for $11,379 (28.5% of the amount would be paid cash and 71.5% in bank transfer). So total for bathrooms would be around $54,742.
    
  • Batoul Camp:  Total cost for the wells for camp would be $2,200 and 3 units of bathrooms (3 toilets each) would be purchased: 28.5% of the amount would be paid in cash and 71.5% in bank transfer so total of $34,140. So total for bathrooms would be $36,242.
  • North Team Camp:  Total cost for the wells for camp would be $3,700 and 4 units of bathrooms (3 toilets each) would be purchased: 20% of the amount would be paid in cash and 80% in bank transfer so total of $40,870. So total for bathrooms would be $44,570.
  • Sawarha Medical Point Camp:  Total cost for the wells for camp would be $7,750 and 4 units of bathrooms (3 toilets each) would be purchased: 20% of the amount would be paid in cash and 80% in bank transfer so total of $40,870. So total for bathrooms would be $48,620. We might add one toilet for the medical point and one toilet for the ambulance area at a later stage (not included in calculations yet).

Price for 45 toilets ---> $184,174

• Electricity & Solar Panels: To provide electricity for the Refaat Alareer extension camp, Batoul Camp and the North team camp, we want to upgrade the electricity system. This will allow the team to charge their phones, patients to use medical devices, use fans for patients with burns, lights at night and more. This required a Sako power device and a lithuim battery with a total cost of $35,222.

Price for Expansion of Electric Supply ---> $35,222

• Expansion of Refaat Alareer Medical Point & Educational Tent: Considering that we are expanding from a 30-40 tent camp to four different camps that will have a total of 220-230 families, we are looking to expand the educational tent from one tent to 5 large tents and 2 middle sized tents. The engineers are still making the plans and will provide the details soon. As for the medical point, we are looking at switching from a small tent to a large tent (8x4). More information soon.
  

Price for Expansion of Eductional and Medical Point ---> TBD

• Transportation fees - The trip from the North to the South is extremely expensive right now with a moving van costing at least $450 cash so with 45% commission to get cash that's $648 per trip. To support the Translating Falasteen x Sameer Project team who is getting displaced, we will cover $216 (including commission) per family so for around 60 team members that's $12,960. To move the Sawarha medical point from Gaza Port, a huge van is needed that will cost around $1,300 (including commission). Finally, the patient families moving into Refaat Alareer Camp need money for transport so around $648 per family for at least 60 families, and that is $38,880. We already started supporting other families too that are not part of any of the camps with transport fees.

Price for Transport of at least 120 Families ---> $51,840

WE NEED YOU

This displacement is happening. We do not want it to, but the situation is unfolding and we are ready to respond. Help us execute our well conceived, efficient, and equitable plan. Support The Sameer Project displacement camps in raising around $750,000 / £550,000 to shelter around 2,000 people + have 2 large medical points to serve people for free (including dental, physiotherapy, wound change, dermatology, speech therapy, mental health support, and more) + ambulance area for civil defense workers + large school for 800-900 children and hopefully more services to benefit the community. 

We are also hoping to equip other camps popping around with toilets, tarps and more but for that we need donations. Donate and share our campaign!