Gaza Sky Geeks Evacuation Fund 

Hi friends, 

TL;DR: I am raising $1.4 million through a U.S. 501c3 to evacuate 216 current and former Gaza Sky Geeks employees and their family members to safety in Egypt. You can donate through our partner, 188 Foundation. All contributions will be tax deductible, eligible for corporate matching, and open to donor-advised funds. We have $954K left to raise— will you contribute? Wire instructions below.

My last day in the office as GSG Director in 2021

From 2015-2021, I led Gaza Sky Geeks, a community-driven tech hub helping thousands of young people work online. You may have even visited us in Gaza and know some of the team personally. 

Since October, I and many supporters of GSG have tried to use all manner of favors and connections with embassies, NGOs, and companies to try to protect homes of our friends and community in Gaza, deliver medicine, find disappeared family members, and evacuate. For those who have made that devastating choice of evacuating Gaza to an uncertain, but less deadly future outside, I am committed to doing what I can to support their choice to leave. Almost every team member has lost their homes and hundreds of immediate and extended family members to Israeli air strikes, disease, and now starvation.

In January, Egyptian state-affiliated company, Hala, re-established control of border coordinations for Gazans into Egypt. Prior to the war, paying travel and coordination fees to Hala was a primary way Gazans had reliably been able to travel out of Gaza via Egypt. Hala is again now the only reliable, if expensive, exit option for Gazans seeking safety who do not have dual nationality, the backing of a foreign government, or on an emergency medical list. 

The going Hala rate to cross the Rafah border and be driven to Cairo is $5,000 for adults and $2,500 for kids under 16. 

There are 73 children and 143 adult (aged 16+) family members of 25 GSG employees who are expending what’s left of their life savings to pay these fees and more just to become refugees. For some, this may be the second or third time in their lives being displaced. More than 70% of all homes in Gaza have been destroyed and, with them, most of the invested wealth of the Gazan population. Very few have the liquidity to pay their way out. When they do, they will also need additional funds to rebuild lives wherever they land. 

We have proven first-hand this system works. The fees to evacuate must be paid in US dollars in cash at Hala’s office in Cairo, requiring family members or deputized agents to show up in person. I flew to Cairo four weeks ago to personally deliver $20K in cash to register one GSG family, as Egypt’s deteriorating economic situation and plunging currency make it complicated and expensive to transfer dollars in and out. Thankfully, the nuclear family of four we registered at Hala with those funds are now safely in Cairo, but grandparents and siblings are still in Gaza.

Iyad Altahrawi, who ran GSG’s startup accelerator, departing Rafah for Cairo with wife, Shahd, and twin daughters, Eva and Ayla, on Feb 25

Since then, we have established trusted partners in Egypt who can accept and withdraw cash USD from their banks for no fees on behalf of those in Gaza. GSG family members and friends who are already in Cairo are ready to receive the cash and register their teammates’ families. This ensures that no donations will go to fees or additional middlemen who are profiting from the situation and reliable custody of funds through GSG team members all the way to Hala’s registration office in Cairo.  

Options for donating:

  1. Donate through 188 Foundation (501c3 EIN: 87-2767781) via a bank wire transfer. All contributors will receive receipt letters from 188 Foundation for US tax deductibility and record keeping. Check to see if your employer offers a corporate match for charitable donations and double your impact!

    1. You may donate to a specific team member’s campaign (see this online tracker) by noting the campaign name in your wire. When received by 188 Foundation, it will be wired on to the team member’s preferred account / through trusted banking partners in Cairo

    2. Donate to a general pool of funds to be split equally among all 25 families. Donations that do not note any particular team member will be added to the general fund pool. This pool will be regularly divided and dispatched to the team members’ respective accounts / bank branches in Cairo. 

  2. Each of the 25 families has a GoFundMe crowdfunding website you can browse using the online tracker. You can contribute directly online via these campaign sites. However, these are subject to a 3% fee, may require additional transfers/expense to get their funds to Cairo, and are not tax deductible or eligible for corporate matches. 

How we came up with $1.4M:

For the Hala fees for the 216 people: $872,500

Additional funds for hotels, flights, food, and other resettlement costs: $516,100

About 188 Foundation: a non-profit that specializes in high-risk evacuations and founded after rescuing 188 Afghans in August of 2021, 188 has been providing rescues and security to vulnerable people in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and the US. As the nonprofit arm of the holistic security company, Concentric, they have unique access, capability, and a proven track record that makes them the ideal partner for this campaign. They have been equally eager to support Palestinians leaving Gaza and have been stymied by the lack of reputable options available due to the unique circumstances on the ground. 188 Foundation and Concentric have validated the Hala option through their partners in the region and are able to support with additional requirements, should they arise. 

188 Foundation Wire Info:

  • ABA/Routing Number - Wire Transfer or ACH: 122016066

  • Swift Code - International transfer: CINAUS6L

  • Account Number: 686061396

  • Account / Beneficiary Name: 188 Foundation

  • Bank Name: City National Bank

  • Bank address: 555 South Flower Street Los Angeles, CA 90071, USA

  • Contact: Laura Hoffner, Founding Director, lhoffner@188foundation.org 

Please consider giving to this direct campaign. As soon as money is donated it can go to registering families to depart Gaza. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly on Whatsapp or Signal at +13122061113 or grab a time on my calendar at calendly.com/ryansturgill-cb (I am based in Amman). 

Best wishes and, for those who celebrate, Ramadan Karim,

Ryan