Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,

In September this year I was part of a brave group of 40 people from different parts of the world who took on a challenge with a great cause called Cycling4Gaza. We peddled 350km from Philadelphia to Washington DC over 3 days, to raise awareness and critical funds to support the healthcare of Palestinians living under occupation in GAZA.

It was a tough ride, lots of hills and inclines, falls and injuries, but the spirits were so high. One of those 40 cyclists was a 16 year old boy from Gaza, Ahmed Abu Nammous. Ahmad lost his leg last year and was treated by the PCRF - Palestine Children's Relief Fund. He was the star of the ride. He biked with us with one leg without having done any training, and he did it all with a huge smile on his face! Ahmad was the source of inspiration and motivation for us all. He proved to us all that a human spirit can never be broken. I’m proud and honored to have had met Ahmad and these 40 awesome champions along the way. This has been the BEST experience of my life.

We must not forget that the Gaza strip is dependent entirely on foreign aid. They need our help and donations. Our goal is $230,000. Please continue to support in any way you can,  to help us reach our goal. Any amount will make a difference in someone’s life in Gaza.

If you would like more information, please contact me. I'd be happy to get you any information you'd like.

Peace & freedom,

Tala Q.

REACH Gaza – The 2014 Project Second Year Running

REACH Gaza aims to improve and strengthen the currently underdeveloped health-care system in Gaza, particularly when it comes to providing surgery for children in need of medical care.  In addition to causing a chronic shortage of medical equipment and supplies in Gaza, the 6 year long siege on the Gaza Strip has prevented children and their families from travelling freely into the West Bank and abroad in order to receive the urgent care and treatment they need.

The REACH Gaza project will address each of these issues and work towards creating a more durable, efficient and sustainable healthcare system by carrying out the following tasks:

• Identifying every sick and injured child in the besieged Gaza Strip in need of specialised medical care through a team of ground staff who will form an intricate network of field offices throughout Gaza
• Creating a pioneering centralised database that will include each child’s medical condition and history
• Providing each child with the required treatment through sponsoring treatment locally, visiting international volunteer missions and sending children abroad for care.

$250,000 (£150,000) was raised in 2013 in support of the REACH Gaza project. 53% of these funds directly resulted in:

• The treatment of 630 children in Gaza
• Through the work of 18 volunteer international medical teams
• Caring for children in need of cardiac, orthopaedic and general medical treatment

The funds also allowed for the development of the first medical database in Gaza with 496 child cases registered.

The remaining funds from 2013 will be used to continue providing essential medical treatment to the children in Gaza, in addition to all the funds raised in 2014 from our 6th cycling challenge taking place in the US from Philadelphia to Washington DC on the 19th of September. With these two cycles we aim to support the REACH Gaza project up to the end of 2015; caring for over 1000 children in Gaza.