A message to Madleen’s Friends

Below is a message directly from Madleen to share, if you are able.

Her basic call to the world here is that she desperately wants to help more people.

She recognizes she is fortunate to have friends abroad like us, as well as strangers who do not know her, willing to contribute financially to her and to her mission of supporting other families. We will let her say it in her own words:

Hello friends, I’m Madleen, I am a fisherwoman and I’m a mother of five.

I struggle to live a decent life here in Gaza. Since the beginning of the war, my husband and I have stopped fishing, and our journey of displacement has begun. We lost our fishing boat, and everything we owned. It was a tragedy—no work, no income, war, and everything was very expensive.

During this time, I had friends in Canada who didn’t leave my side for a single minute.

My family, my displaced neighbors, and the families of other fishermen were all there for me. The war was very difficult; fear was everywhere. the war dragged on, and they didn’t allow us to move to any area. Every area we moved to cost us a lot.

My Canadian friends supported me by helping me buy tents, lemons, clothes, food, shoes, vegetables, and other necessities.  I thank everyone who was able to donate and contribute, my friends in Canada and in other areas around the world, to help us endure life, to remain steadfast and not give up, and to enable me to raise my children and provide them with a better life.

I want to be the reason for aid reaching families who do not know anyone abroad, who have no money, and have no way to receive help. Through me, we can reach marginalized and poor families.

I hope you will help me share the donation link that my friends in Canada created so that I can deliver aid to my family, my children, and other families.

As I grew, I learned the secrets of the sea, with the boat and net as my companions on every trip. When I started fishing on my own, each journey was filled with hope and dreams of a good catch.

But in the end… everything was lost: the boat, the net, and all I worked so hard for.

Despite all the losses and difficult days, hope never dies. The sea taught me patience and strength, and we keep trying no matter how harsh the conditions, because hope is what keeps us alive. 

Thank you to everyone who reads my words. Thank you to everyone who wants to share this link so it reaches as many people as possible. 

So – there you have it. A message directly from Madleen herself. She is very passionate now about trying to reach more families. Partly because their family, for once, seems to be doing just barely okay. Just a hint of steadiness is all it took for her to decide she needs to launch a campaign to help more people – with a newborn baby on her back while she does it. Every single donation is accounted for – she provides photo evidence of everything purchased.  Everyone who has encountered Madleen, even only online, it taken by her perseverance and her tenaciousness.  

Her request isn’t necessarily to donate again (although it is always welcome!) but to share her name and her mission far and wide, with a link to this fundraiser. That we can get money directly into hands of people who need it now, today. It’s wondeful to support non-profits with large scale (or small scale) opporations of course – but from receiving that donation to it being put to use can be a longer chain of events. This is direct action. 

Please share Madleen’s message if you are able.

You can use any part of her message or all of it, or you can pull text from our main page as well.

You should be able to tag her on facebook or instagram as

Facebook  @Madleen Fisherwoman or

Instagram @MadleenKulab

Thanks.