For nine months, Israel has been raining down destruction on the people of Gaza while blocking off access to aid and safety, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises the world has seen in recent global history.

With governments and international NGOs struggling to get into Gaza to deliver food, water, medicine, and other supplies, smaller, local organizations have stepped in to deliver life-saving support. But many of these groups have never witnessed such catastrophic devastation before and they are scrambling to get the resources and funding they need. For many of them, grassroots and viral digital fundraising campaigns have become their only lifeline as they help hundreds of thousands of Gazans try to survive the genocide.

For the first session of The Gaza Chronicles, our powerful new Speaker Series, we hear how one small local organization skillfully used grassroots fundraising and digital crowdfunding to get food to thousands of Gazans.

Hani Almadhoun launched the Gaza Soup Kitchen with his brother after watching family members and friends starve to death due to Israel’s blockades. In an intimate conversation with AFF CEO Naila Farouky, Hani talks about his life and his work, including his deep links to Palestine, with some of his family currently inside Gaza; his role as Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA; and how the Gaza Soup Kitchen has successfully managed to raise close to $1.3 million to feed more than 4,000 people every day.