Story Sunbirds: Libraries are Havens Fundraiser

PURPOSE: To raise money for humanitarian aid to support the library communities of Gaza.

GOAL: Fundraise via IBBY Children in Crisis Fund for the IBBY Palestine Librarians with a goal of 10,000 USD by 1 June 2025.

RECIPIENTS: Funds will support everyone connected to the two IBBY libraries of Gaza — children, librarians, and families.

Libraries are havens—safe spaces where knowledge, imagination, and community converge. In times of peace, they nurture curiosity and lifelong learning; in times of crisis, they offer solace, stability, and hope. For displaced communities, a library is more than a building—it is a symbol of resilience and a beacon of humanity. Rebuilding libraries and supporting the librarians who sustain them is an act of restoring not just books, but dignity, memory, and the right to dream.

Two IBBY libraries were established in Gaza in 2008, one in Rafah, one in Beit Hanoun. The Israeli war raging in Gaza since October 2023 has had fateful consequences on the libraries. In Beit Hanoun the building was turned to rubble, and while the Rafah library still stands on its feet, it was bombed and severely damaged. Abla Hamad, one of the two full-time librarians employed by IBBY Palestine, and her family, have been displaced on more than seven occasions. She has continued her work with children whenever circumstances allow, as covered in a video news report by Al Jazeera+ in September 2024 (in Arabic). In November 2024, IBBY International pledged to revive and rebuild the libraries in Gaza and commence bibliotherapy and psychosocial activities for the children in makeshift spaces.

As the humanitarian conditions have continued to deteriorate, the Story Sunbirds, a Kidlit collective, has launched a campaign alongside IBBY Palestine to provide life-saving aid to displaced librarians, as it is through their incredible labor that books reach the hands of children everywhere.

Join the fundraiser to support the librarians, their families, and their communities who made these libraries their home. Every donation will support in providing humanitarian aid: food, water, essential living supplies such as tents, clothing, hygiene, etc. to those connected to the two IBBY libraries in Gaza — children, librarians, and families.

Translated testimony from Abla Hamad, one of the librarians:

“..the library was the warm place for many children to express their talents and creativity. When the library started, it was a small room...The number of books was small but...it grew and developed...it was bombarded and destroyed.”