Firewood for Gaza's Makeshift Bakeries

Crowdfunding $7k to help feed families in Gaza

I’m writing today to ask you to join a small but urgent effort led by my friend Mahmoud Khwaiter in Gaza. Mahmoud is helping power makeshift bakeries—in some cases made of mud in others small metal ovens—that feed entire families. These bakeries have become lifelines. But now they’re struggling to keep going.

We’re trying to raise $7,000 to supply firewood to a handful of these makeshift baking sites. This will allow bakeries to operate at an affordable cost to provide bread to families, while also supporting the dignity of workers who run the ovens.

Why Bread?

Bread is the most basic and sustaining food in Gaza right now. Where once a shekel (about $0.30) could get a family four loaves of pita, now it buys only one. And families, which are generally quite large in Gaza, need about 30 loaves of pita every 1–2 days just to survive.

By supplying firewood to local baking sites, we can dramatically reduce the cost of bread—cutting it to what it used to be, or even less. It also allows these community-run ovens to operate sustainably, generating a small income to pay workers and possibly expanding to serve more people.

The Math

• One baking site needs roughly 2,300 NIS (~$700) worth of firewood to operate for five days.

• That’s $140/day to offer nourishment to a local neighborhood.

• With $7,000, we can fuel multiple baking sites for several weeks, easing hunger and preserving dignity.

Currently, families supply their own flour to the baking sites.

By lowering the cost of firewood, the bakeries can operate at maximum capacity. The sales made from the firewood will be reinvested into opening up additional neighborhood ovens.

Mahmoud and others on the ground have a system in place. They’ve already started sourcing firewood and operating pop-up bakeries in crowded neighborhoods. The impact is immediate. The need is massive. Your help can go directly toward sustaining this work.

To avoid fees on crowdfunding campaign platforms, I am collecting funds directly and will send to Mahmoud in Gaza.

Here are ways to contribute to this effort—please put “firewood” in the memo:

• Venmo me at @AnamR

• PayPal me via anam.raheem@gmail.com

• Log into Zelle, select “Send,” and scan this QR Code:

  

Thanks for your support.

Warmly,

Anam