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About Our Auction
Today, the people of Gaza are facing an unprecedented level of death, injury, displacement, disease, trauma and destruction of their ability to survive in their own land. Hunger is now so severe that the large majority Gaza’s 2.3 million people, including babies, children, pregnant women and the elderly, face starvation and famine.
The need for aid is unprecedented.
Israel has been bombing Gaza since October 7, 2023. It has cut off electricity, food, water, and other basic necessities. Israeli government and military officials are openly talking about ethnic cleansing and they are bombing homes, schools, mosques, clinics and hospitals. Children, journalists, and medical workers have been killed and gravely injured.
Entry of humanitarian aid is severely (and unnecessarily) restricted by Israel, but from the moment the genocide began, MECA’s Gaza staff has worked with local and international partners to source food and other necessities. MECA's team and partners in Gaza are procuring food and hygiene supplies from stores, warehouses, factories, and farmers and delivering them to displaced families.
MECA is using international donations and their network of local grassroots community organizations to:
• Deliver boxes of fresh produce from farmers and other food items like rice and lentils to 14,000 families now in Khan Younis (next to Rafah) and “Middle Areas” just north.
• Provide soap, shampoo, sanitary pads, laundry detergent, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
• Prepare about 8,400 hot meals a day,
*Provide thousands of displaced children with clothing and blankets.
• Bring clean water by truck to families who fled from the North to Gaza City, and to several areas in areas of Khan Younis for people who fled from Rafah.
• Begin installation for four new solar-powered “Maia” water desalination and purification units to provide drinking water to thousands of families daily.
If you are in Madison we invite you to view this beautiful and generously donated art in person!
An exhibit of the art will open June 21 at Java Cat Coffee Shop, 4221 Lien Road on Madison’s east side.
Java Cat will host a meet-and-greet event on Tuesday, July 2, from 5:30 to 7 pm. with a chance to meet some of the artists who have donated their work, and learn more about Middle East Children’s Alliance’s work in Gaza.
You can learn more about Madison's fundraising campaign for Middle East Children's Alliance at Tinyurl.com/madisontogaza And see their 100% Charity Navigator rating at https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/943074600#:~:text=This%20charity%27s%20score%20is%20100,%2C%205%25%20Culture%20%26%20Community.
Auction Video
About Madison-Rafah Sister City Project
MRSCP was founded in 2003 by concerned Madison citizens aiming to forge person-to-person relationships with citizens of Rafah, a city and refugee camp at the southern border of Gaza, Palestine. For the past 21 years MRSCP has supported many humanitarian projects for the people of Rafah including water purification systems, mental health resources, a playground, a children's library, a house reconstruction, and more.
One of our major partners throughout this time has been the Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA).
MECA works to protect the rights and improve the lives of children in the Middle East through aid, empowerment and education. In the Middle East, MECA provides humanitarian aid, partners with community organizations to run projects for children, and supports income generation projects. In the US and internationally, MECA raises awareness about the lives of children in the region and encourages meaningful action.
MECA was on the ground in Gaza when the genocide began, and continues to work with local partners and international support to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid.