Hello everyone, you have been on my heart and mind every day! I am so grateful to finally have a moment to speak with you. You are very special to me.
A bit about where I've been...
I am deeply impacted by the preventable suffering and incomprehensible destruction unfolding in Gaza each day, and I know that you are too. There are days when rage fills my body with the energy to fight and organize, and it seems that I could lift literal mountains with this rage. And then there are days when the mountain of rage takes the shape of grief, and then it sits atop me, causing immobility and depression.
Though we owe it to our own humanity to keep fighting, we are still humans, we are interconnected, and I know it's okay to feel this. "May my heart never recover, so that I will revolt forever" is a gorgeous quote by YK Reborn. I am committed to living with a broken heart until the world is no longer broken.
That said, our bodies do need rest at times. My work / life has been relentless this past month - I facilitated multiple day long trauma trainings, (sometimes back-to-back), started teaching a course, supported many coaching clients and have been supporting my child's adjustment to a new school while entering a season of many grief anniversaries. It is such a privilege to have meaningful employment, mostly on my own terms, and the ability to provide for my child. And I hold the duality that it is also deeply, soul-level exhausting to do care work in every single realm of my life (from parenting to mutual aid to community mental health and managing my own trauma.) Many like me take on disproportionate care work because so much care is needed, as we live within a system that not only neglects its duty to care for us and the earth, but it also actively promotes alienation and violence.
Updates on Coffee for Gaza funds...
All of that said, your participation in this mutual aid community is not only a lifeline for Gazans, but also a lifeline for me. I am sincerely so touched by your generosity to share some of your monthly earnings with families in Gaza, and your trust in me to help you do it. It fills my heart with a sense of warmth and hope to keep going.
As we all know, these funds put literal food in children's mouths and keeps shelter over their heads.
On August 23rd, Coffee for Gaza was able to distribute funds to most of the 10+ families I support, upwards of 800 dollars. I look forward to sharing the exact receipts soon so that you see where your contributions are going.
I hope to distribute funds and provide updates at least once a month, depending on my capacity.
Currently, our monthly donation subscriptions total around $960 per month, (notwithstanding one-time donors), and this allows us to send around $100 per month, per family with the addition of my personal funds. While this amount is meager when we consider the exorbitant cost of living in the strip, it makes a difference by providing consistency in a chaotic environment.
I would love for us to be able to provide more significant, consistent support to our families. If we could raise $5,000 a month, families could receive $500 a month each, and we would also be able to redirect funds during emergencies such as displacement.
Please share this initiative with friends and others who might be interested in joining our community providing a lifeline of support to ten families in Gaza.
Stay tuned for more detailed reports on funds distributed in August, and soon to be distributed in September! Please know that while my capacity shifts over time, I am committed to ensuring that ALL of your funds make it to Gaza no matter what! I also use my personal funds to recoup any fees along the way.
Feel free to leave me a message here or contact me on Instagram or by email if you'd like to chat about this work.
With love,
Candice (Instagram @education_healing_justice)
Some flowers from my garden for your heart... 