HOLY Evangelists’ Primary School in Twinbrook have held a highly successful Bake Sale to raise funds for the beleaguered children of Gaza.
The school raised an amazing £1,319.80 through baked goods provided by the parents and families of the Year 6 pupils. The money has been used to support a start-up charity called Uisce for Gaza, formed through the Kildare branch of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Committee in partnership with a Gazan teacher-activist, Mohammed Alazzami. The charity delivers tankers of water to isolated communities in Gaza. A portion of the funds also went to support families who visited Belfast in 2022 through the Hands Up Project.
Recently, the dire need for fresh, clean water in the Gaza Strip has become a rallying point for activism, with UNWRA reporting that 70 per cent of the population are drinking sea or contaminated water.
Claire Robinson, the Principal of Holy Evangelists’, expressed great pride in the pupils and their families.
“The communities that surround this school are extremely generous and knowledgeable about events in the Middle East. The children in our school are taught about rights through our status as a Rights Respecting School so they know well that having access to clean, fresh water is a basic human right,” she said.
Everyone chipped in for the Gaza fundraiser
Her thoughts were echoed by Adam McAvoy, aged 10. “We made buns to help raise money so the children of Gaza can have water," he said. "We feel sad that they don’t have water. Having water is a human right.”
Siobhan Grogan, who is behind the initiative, thanked Holy Evangelists’ for their contribution.
“The response has been fantastic, we passed the €30,000 mark earlier in September, so we’ve a new target of €50,000. Obviously, there is no ceiling on the amount of fresh water we would like to provide. We believe nobody should have to rely on the kindness of strangers for basic human rights such as clean water. Here we are though.”
Yara Al-Shabba, who visited Belfast through the Hands Up Project and the INTO Palestine Ambassadors group as a 15-year-old in 2022, thanked the staff and pupils for their support. “Insha’allah. One day I will meet you and thank you for everything.”
Holy Evangelists’ teacher Sean Mullin organised the fundraiser.
“I’m extremely proud of my class and the P6 year group.” he said. “Kids tend to engage well with this issue. They have a very acute sense of right and wrong and can see the injustice and the importance of speaking up.”
Last word to the pupils.
“l loved making and selling the buns!” said Sophie McCann, aged 10.
“I enjoyed it, because I knew the money was going to a good cause,” added P6 student and keen footballer Naomi McDonnell.
For those wishing to contribute to either 'Uisce for Gaza' or donate to help ‘Yara and her family rebuild their lives’ you can by typing the respective terms on the gofundme website search bar or by clicking the links below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/Uisce-for-Gaza#
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-yara-and-her-family-rebuild-their-lives?qid=b403edd578a80ce2f3b5f7ee953a4409
