Special Thanks for Special People
Playgrounds for Palestine would like to extend special gratitude to the following individuals:
Lowell Hartzell because over the years he has always made himself available to train PfP members on installation of playground equipment. For our most recent trip, Lowell spent at least 9 hours making calculations and instructing new board members on installation of our new playgrounds
Mariam Rajab and her friends in Ottowa, a group of 7 seven women who come together each Friday with their children to eat, socialize, and pray. Every week, these wonderful women offer whatever amount they are able to give, storing the money in a piggy bank and, after a few months, choosing a charitable cause to donate it to. When Miriam heard about PfP, she was so inspired by the thought of offering Palestinian children a space to play that she suggested her group donate the contents of the piggy bank. The $400 they donated represented 6 weeks of their savings.
Sofwat is in the 11th grade and lives in Canada. We’ve pasted the letter he sent to us here so you can see for yourselves what wonderful young men they are and why we were so touched by their service.
Dear PfP Team;
Hope you guys are doing well. I am fine. My friend Jim and I raised 70 Canadian dollars by selling 140 chocolates for 50 cents each. We sold them at different neighbourhoods.
It was an honor to do this. We feel proud of ourselves, and believe that more organizations like PfP MUST exist in this world.
Why did we do this? Firstly, it was an act of love. We wanted to support the 650,000 children at Gaza. Furthermore, we also aimed to publicize the plight and suffering of countless children. We educated many individuals, including some who never even know what ‘Gaza’ was.
Please don’t think that all the neighbourhoods here are generous. Some of the people were extremely disrespectful. Not only did they not donate, but, they also insulted us. For example, one ‘religious’ non-Muslim claimed that we were “supporting” terrorism because the playgrounds could be used as rocket launching sites. Others threatened us and made numerous taunts.
My friend Jin and I knew what we were doing. We were doing an act of humanity. We simply ignored the negative comments, and continued our fundraiser with spirits.
This whole thing started from my English teacher, Mr. Ste. Croix. He wanted all his students to do something humanitarian. The students had the power to choose what they wanted to do. Because I am a Muslim, and I am well-informed about the situation in Palestine, I immediately convinced my group to raise money for the playgrounds. (I saw you guys on TV once).
I hope that my friend Jin and I were able to make a difference. I really appreciate what you guys are doing.
So, thanks.
Sincerely
Sofwat
PS: I will do another fund raiser in a few months, not because of any school thing, but because of the hundreds of children like me.