We did it! Over 360 km in 3 days. Not even the most vertical of hills could stop us. Coming together was exhilirating and an even stronger reminder of how important this initiative is. So far Cycling4Gaza has directly impacted the lives of thousands of children and families through healthcare and education projects. One of whom is Ahmad (16, from Gaza) who impressivley cycled all the way with us thanks to the help of the Palestinian Children Relief Fund (PCRF) which helped treat him after being shot and having to have one leg amputated. There is so much that has been done and so much more left to do; that can be achieved with the turn of a peddle or touch of a few buttons. This page will be open for some time and donations are always welcomed as the #C4G2014 group collectively aims to raise $50,000 more for this year.
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On Sept. 19 I will be taking part in the 6th annual Cycling4Gaza event. Along with a dynamic and dedicated group I will be cycling over 300 km in 3 days starting in Philadelphia and with a finish line in Washington D.C.. Leading up to this event I am aiming to raise at least $7,000 to directly support the REACH (Reach Every Affected Child in Gaza) project through the Palestinian Children Relief Fund (PCRF). The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund is a non-political, non-profit organization dedicated to healing the wounds of war, occupation and poverty for children int he Middle East regardless of their nationality, religion, race or gender.
Please find below more information on the REACH project's mission and the medical treatment of children they have enabled so far. With further details at cycling4gaza.com.
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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.
| Supporters | |||
| Name | Date | Amount | Comments |
| Amanda Kennedy | 09/22/2014 | $100.00 | G Unit!!!! I am soooo proud of you and love you soo much mi hermanita!!! You guys are all amazing. I wish I could have been part of this! I miss you and need to hug you soon!!! | Anonymous Friend | 09/21/2014 | $30.00 | Love you & so proud of you gigi! | Anonymous Friend | 09/21/2014 | $200.00 | You never fail to impress me. Love you & so incredibly proud of you! | Sarah Selim | 09/20/2014 | $50.00 | What a wonderful cause! | Rania Kiblawi | 09/19/2014 | $100.00 | Ghia- we're so proud of you! See you at the finish line!!!! | Neha Kapasi | 09/19/2014 | $50.00 | Dear Ghia, what an amazing thing you are doing. Thanks for being so inspirational and taking action for people who need your help. I hope this little amount I can give helps and I wish I could give more. Thanks again for your effort. xoxo, Neha | Joumanna Bercetche | 09/19/2014 | $100.00 | Well done Ghia!! Great cause. | Alissa Clarke | 09/19/2014 | $50.00 | Ride Sally Ride! | Sara Khan | 09/19/2014 | $100.00 | good luck ghia! | Anonymous Friend | 09/18/2014 | $20.00 | Mega thumbs up xx | Tala Brack | 09/18/2014 | $50.00 | Good luck! | Salma Tag | 09/18/2014 | $100.00 | Hope you have a safe and fun bike ride- I love PCRF and so happy that you are active in their cause also. xoxo | Thomas Recchione and Ghia Zaatari | 09/17/2014 | $400.00 | Saad Zaatari | 09/17/2014 | $200.00 | YALLA GIGI!! | Dina Shammaa | 09/17/2014 | $100.00 | Proud of my GiGi. | Joud Sebai | 09/16/2014 | $50.00 | Good Luck!! :) | Yasmina El Assi | 09/16/2014 | $100.00 | Good Luck !! | Jana Chammaa | 09/16/2014 | $100.00 | Run Gigi Run!!!!! Proud of you | Rima Afifi | 09/16/2014 | $75.00 | WAY TO GO Ghia!! | Mohammed Zaatari | 09/15/2014 | $300.00 | Raya Musallam | 09/15/2014 | $50.00 | You rock! Thank you for doing this! | Lara Ariss | 09/15/2014 | $200.00 | Anonymous Friend | 09/13/2014 | $150.00 | With all my love, support and best wishes. | Sana Jubayli | 09/12/2014 | $100.00 | Go Ghia!!! awesome initiative, good luck!! Xx | Majid Mufti | 09/12/2014 | $150.00 | Allah yibarik feekum | Rola Kaissi | 09/12/2014 | $200.00 | Reina Badran | 09/11/2014 | $100.00 | Good luck Gigi!! Love you x | Mira K | 09/11/2014 | $500.00 | Bravo Ghia! Love, hugs and kisses! | Soraya Matar | 09/11/2014 | $300.00 | gee gee butt you continue to make us all proud and we love you so much! good luck thinking of you a lot | Aimee Miller | 09/11/2014 | $100.00 | Good luck Ghia! Wish I could be there to support you! | Anonymous Friend | 09/10/2014 | $20.00 | So proud of you, Ghia! | Anonymous Friend | 09/10/2014 | $100.00 | Ghia , Gaza children thank you. | Sarah AlBanna | 09/10/2014 | $50.00 | So proud of you G! | Roa Elbizri | 09/10/2014 | $100.00 | Will be cheering you on at the finish line my wonderful Gigi! Love you so much | Amanda Kennedy | 09/09/2014 | $20.00 | Susan Douglass | 09/09/2014 | $100.00 | Thank you for cycling4gaza | Hana Zoghby | 09/08/2014 | $50.00 | Anonymous Friend | 09/08/2014 | $50.00 | Thomas Recchione and Ghia Zaatari | 09/06/2014 | $300.00 | Khalil Ibrahim | 09/06/2014 | $100.00 | Good luck G! | Colin and Jen Chant/ Mactaggart | 09/05/2014 | $30.00 | Way to go, Ghia. Thanks for riding. | Sarah Malki | 09/05/2014 | $100.00 | Good luck G!!! You're gonna kill it and for an absolutely imperative cause! | Fafi M.H. | 09/05/2014 | $200.00 | Passion, courage and love Xxx | A Z | 09/03/2014 | $60.00 | The world needs more people like you :) | Ahed Sboul | 09/02/2014 | $150.00 | People like you help make the world a better place. | Karim Hojeij | 09/01/2014 | $500.00 | Anonymous Friend | 08/31/2014 | $20.00 | Anonymous Friend | 08/31/2014 | $150.00 | Excellent initiative, good luck :) | Carolyn McCandlish | 08/29/2014 | $50.00 | Wish I could come down to support but I'll be at a wedding. I so admire your strength, your heart, your selfless commitment to your ideals, your action. Happy to help support this important cause. Love you and good luck!! | Diana Allan | 08/29/2014 | $50.00 | Thank you for doing this. Hope you are well. Abouta, Diana | Samantha Jordan | 08/29/2014 | $25.00 | Rima Abushakra | 08/29/2014 | $250.00 | Good luck Ghia! It's great that you're doing this. | Anonymous Friend | 08/29/2014 | $25.00 | See you at the finish line, Gigi!! Good luck!! | Tala and Firas Zawati | 08/29/2014 | $150.00 | Good luck!! | Sura Zaatari | 08/29/2014 | $200.00 | my gigi I admire you for being up for any challenge and every cause and always going for it with so much passion! I love you and your warmed up feet :) Saadie (and possibly me) will be waiting for you at the finish line! | Noor, Samer & Kareem Al-Ameen | 08/29/2014 | $1,000.00 | Fantastic cause! Good luck from all of us! Xxx | Omar Lababedi | 08/29/2014 | $200.00 | Brilliant initiative! Good luck and as you cross the finish line, remember that it was all thanks to the kick boxing training knee jerk hugging exercise that you now have the super strength to do 100km a day :) Much love. | Lynn & Hesham . | 08/28/2014 | $100.00 | We are all cheering for you at the finish line!!!!!! | Tala Barbir | 08/28/2014 | $20.00 | Good luck Ghia! Sending you positivity, luck and love on this amazing feat! Tala xxx | Pablo Tsutsumi | 08/27/2014 | $50.00 | Great initiative, hope you have an awesome ride! |
| Total | $8,345.00 | ||