6 ambulances funded, an astounding $100,681 raised!
Six ambulances funded, an astounding $100,681 raised to buy ambulances for the women of the White Helmets. On Saturday the 10th of January, we blew past our fundraising target of $90,000 and secured enough money to support the brave women saving Syria from the bombs.
The women’s teams of the White Helmets will use them to drive to bomb sites and transport the injured to safety. Every single person who contributed to or shared the campaign helped empower women in their communities, raised awareness, inspired people to volunteer and ultimately, helped save lives.
Until last year, almost all official members of the White Helmets were men. Two women’s teams were established in October, and many more volunteers want to join them. These 56 heroic women are operating in the most dangerous place on earth. They are trained in medical care and light search and rescue work. They ride in vehicles to the scenes of barrel bomb and missile strikes and dig for survivors using tools and their bare hands. They risk their lives to help anyone in need – fully aware that rescue sites are often targeted with a second round of bombing.
In some cases, the women volunteers are the only hope for other women or girl children who are trapped under the rubble. In the most conservative communities, people have refused to let male volunteers rescue women and girls – but the women have intervened successfully to help those who wouldn’t have been helped otherwise. With these ambulances, their chances of reaching people and transporting them to safety are immeasurably higher.
Some in the wider community were skeptical of the White Helmet women doing a “man’s job”, but as the number of their successful missions continues to grow, they’re proving themselves, earning respect and becoming key figures in their communities.
People in over 72 countries, from Peru to Pakistan to Moldova put their faith in these teams and came together to stand in soldiarity, strengthen them, and help them save lives.
In a separate effort, Lena A., a Syrian-American who is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for The White Helmets, raised over $15,000 to buy the women their seventh ambulance. Almost $1,000 more than her target goal was donated through Lena’s crowdfund campaign. Her climb, which will take place on February 14th, will be all the more impactful knowing she’s led an effort that brought together the generosity of others to help save lives in Syria. In her own words, “My every step up Kilimanjaro will be for Syria and for my two elderly grandmothers there. As a Syrian American, I am not able to go inside the country to help, but I am able to help young Syrian women like me who can.”