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 fundraiser 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.
For UK residents, we ask you to contribute £2 separately towards postage through a card payment link.
Please contact cardsacrossborders@gmail.com to confirm postage before ordering physical items if you are based outside the UK. We're happy to post overseas, but will need to request a higher postage contribution - this is usually £4 for European orders or £6 for other locations, but may be higher if you are ordering a larger volume
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. If ordering a physical item, please make a postage and packing contribution separately to Sereen's friend through the following link: Sereen's postage costs. UK residents are requested to contribute £2. If you don't live in the UK, please email cardsacrossborders@gmail.com to confirm postage costs before ordering.
5. Attach your screenshots and submit the form.
6. If you selected the digital download option, 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.