About:
Sereen Ragheb Ahmed Abo Karem has spent decades working to refine her skills in tatreez - traditional Palestinian hand-embroidery. She's protected her beautiful pieces though years of bombardment and homelessness. 'Palestinian embroidery is more than a hobby to me—it's my identity, my heritage, and my way of holding on to my roots', she says.
With the borders of Gaza still blockaded, she can't ship the embroidery abroad, but we're offering greetings cards based on her original photographs of the designs. Supporters can download printable cards, or order physical cards, which are professionally printed, packaged with envelopes and cellophane bags and posted by Sereen's UK-based friend.
Cards are offered in exchange for a donation to Sereen's crowdfunder page. Her page is hosted by her friend, since Palestinian bank account holders are not able to withdraw money from Chuffed, but 100% of funds are transferred directly to Sereen.
The suggested minimum donation for printed cards is based on UK postage, but please contact shopforsereen@gmail.com before ordering if you are based outside the UK and would like to order physical items. We're very happy to do this if you are able to make an additional contribution to offset the costs of postage.
We've set a minimum suggested donation amount, but please give any amount you can. Your contributions are a vital lifeline to help Sereen provide for her beloved little daughter Leliaa and her chronically-ill parents.
Please follow Sereen on social media for updates and to see more examples of her work: @leliaa38784
This form was designed using a template by Divya Persaud. See her own donation-based shop for other opportunities to directly support families in Gaza.
How it works:
1. Select the card or cards you would like to receive. This form will automatically update to show you the minimum requested donation amount, based on the items you choose.
2. Make a donation to Sereen's Chuffed page. (Please note: Chuffed automatically adds a tip, but Sereen does NOT receive these funds - they are used to cover Chuffed platform fees. We recommend that you select 'Other' and write '£0' in the 'tip' box)
3. Take a screenshot of the receipt after donating
4. Upload the screenshot and submit this form
5. If you selected the digital download option, within the next 48 hours you will receive an email with the PDFs of your cards attached. We will provide the designs in both RGB and CMYK format. If you opted to receive printed cards, these will be posted to the address provided, and you will receive an email to confirm postage.