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Organized by Pam Bailey

Gaza's first all-youth news agency

$20,994

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Impact: Gaza Strip

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This campaign will collect all funds raised by July 1, 2017 at 9:00 PM EDT

Education and training and handouts only go so far. What Palestinian youth want and need are real jobs. Help us help them earn a living by telling stories!


Palestinian youth speak out

When it comes to aid for the youth of Gaza, training programs abound. Training in leadership, training in democracy building, training in conflict resolution. But ask youths what they most want and need, and they will tell you “a job.” (That, and the ability to travel.) 

Unemployment is nearly 60 percent among Gazan youth, and all the training in the world won't help if they have no hope of earning a living. That’s why we want your help to take We Are Not Numbers to the next level. We want to start our own news agency and hire some of our best writers. But to do that, we need your help.

What is 'We Are Not Numbers'?

In 2015, with the help of donors like you, We Are NotNumbers launched. We pair developing English writers in Gaza with authors and journalists around the world, who help them tell the human stories behind the numbers in the news. In just two years, we have screened, recruited and mentored more than 90 writers and published nearly 350 stories, many of which have been republished on other websites and even translated into languages ranging from Italian to Serbian. Among our other accomplishments:

  • Palestinian writers from the West Bank, Lebanon and Turkey have joined us. 
  • Videos are increasingly being added to the mix.
  • We have completed our first class project with a U.S. university.
  • We're collaborating with Black Lives Matter on a joint project to come.
  • And a book is in the works!

But now it’s time to show the youth (and their families) that writing can benefit them in practical ways. Let's face it, when you're struggling to put food on the table, jobs are what count. We want to reward the best of our crew with actual jobs, while giving the rest a concrete benefit to which they can aspire.

Introducing the WANN News Agency

Journalism is a profession that is valuable to learn for so many reasons.

  1. It teaches discipline. There is nothing like strict deadlines to prepare for all other jobs in the future.
  2. It demands critical thinking. Interviewing for multiple points of view and conducting rigorous fact-checking requires questioning of your own mental biases.
  3. It provides external exposure. Our plan is to form partnerships with a variety of media that will publish pieces our mentors will assure are professionally edited, giving our writers a portfolio that will help them earn scholarships and other jobs. After a year stint, our “paid crew” will be ready to move on to other opportunities, allowing new writers the same opportunity.


Is a news agency really needed?

Youth are the majority of Gaza, and yet we are pretty much left out of the dialogue by both internal and international media. We want to start to change that. What better way than to regularly and proactively seek and offer the youth point of view?

We'll still offer our first-person narratives on our We Are Not Numbers website, but now we want to start offering news to receptive outlets. 

So what do we need to get this going?

First, we need to raise money to keep our baseline program going – which means funds for our two paid staffers in Gaza, the videographer who helps us produce the videos we hope you’ll agree really add a lot to our offerings, the programmer who works on our website and monthly team activities. Then, we need enough resources to pay our first paid crew of reporters---at least three, and maybe more, depending on how much we raise. 

Our $20,000 goal will carry us through six months, which we hope to leverage with grants. Every dollar helps.

This is our vision: Gaza’s own English-language news agency, staffed with youth “telling it like it is.” Help us make it happen!

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Special gifts for special donors

If you donate $200 or more, you may choose one of the original designs below created by a Gaza artist for your T-shirt:


If you donate $1,000 or more, you may submit a photo of you or a friend, and artist Belal Khaled will create a unique digital portrait just for you. A sample is below:



Your giving amount

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The knowledge that you are awesome!

If you give between $1-10, know that we appreciate every single dollar!

84 claimed

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Personal thank you note

One of our writers will email you with a personal note

42 claimed

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Thank you photo

You will receive a photo of a personalized thank you, written in the sand by the Gaza sea

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A Skype call with our writers

We will convene two of our writers to Skype with you (and any friends you want to involve) to answer the questions you've always wanted to ask about Gaza.

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Join our 'donor advisory board'

We will add you to a special mailing list and you will get to vote on which writers to recognize as "best of the month," weigh in on new initiatives we're considering, suggest story topics, etc.

19 claimed

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Sponsor a story

For this amount, you can make it possible for us to pay one of our new crew of paid writers to produce one story. We will credit you for your support and send you a link. (Want to do this on a monthly basis? Let us know!)

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T-shirt with original Gaza art

Four Gaza artists have created an original design for a We Are Not Numbers T-shirt. See the donor section of our story to choose the one you like the most and be the first to wear it!

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Sponsor a video

At this level, you will make it possible for us to partner with one of the best videographers in Gaza to make a video on a cutting-edge issue. You'll be prominently listed as our sponsor!

5 claimed

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You become the art!

Gaza artist Belal Khaled will transform the photo of the person you submit (male or female) into a piece of original digital art, ready for printing and framing. See sample in the donor section of the copy.

1 claimed


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Updates 4

Pam Bailey6 years ago

A progress report, and a request

One year ago, you showed your trust that we would do good work for Gaza by donating to our project, WeAreNotNumbers.org (and our Palestinian Youth News Agency). We take that trust seriously, so we have produced a video with a report-back on our progress

We hope you will agree it's been money well spent--and will continue your support for another year by donating through our new LaunchGood campaign


You will see in this photo that We Are Not Numbers writers have been at the forefront of the Great Return March protests at our border with Israel, as we remind the world we have a right to basic dignity. We have been telling the stories of the protesters through prose, poetry, photos and video, and with your help, we will continue to do so. 

Visit our website to get caught up on our work, and then we hope you not only will give what you can but share the new campaign link with your network. 

WE ARE NOT NUMBERS! HELP US TELL THE WORLD!

Ahmed, Asmaa, Anas, Rana and Pam (and all of our writers and videographers)


Pam Bailey7 years ago

Mission accomplished! Now what?

You got us to our fundraising goal! Amazing! We often lose hope in the human spirit, but you renewed our faith. We hope you will want to keep up to date on what we are doing with your funds and our energies. 

To that end, we will add your email to our subscription database so you will receive occasional newsletters from us. (If you prefer not to, please email pam@euromedmonitor.org.) You may also follow us on Facebook or via our website

As conditions in Gaza grow worse by the day, it is your support that keeps us going...

The We Are Not Numbers team








Pam Bailey7 years ago

We can't believe it, but we are just $1,200 from our stretch goal!

And that is because of YOU. If you can help us make up this little difference, we will be ecstatic. And then....look out! You're part of our family now, and we have so many stories to share with you in the coming year.

Ahmed, Doaa, Pam and the We Are Not Numbers team



Pam Bailey7 years ago

We are at 50% & you got us there! Can you take us a little further?

Wow! We are thrilled with making the $10,000 mark. When we set a goal of $20,000, we knew it would be a real stretch. Last year, we raised $12,000, and if we can exceed that by any amount, we will de dancing in the streets. Can you help us raise another $5,000 in the next week?

If you could afford to give just a little more and/or share the campaign link with your network, we know we can get there. You are our surrogate family!

In solidarity, 

the We Are Not Numbers team



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