Get to Know a Club: GGH

Give Gaza Hope (GGH) is a newly chartered student organization on campus that is a part of a larger Tulsa-based, grassroots fundraising initiative, with the purpose of providing aid and support to displaced Palestinians, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank. The organization primarily focuses on fundraising and education and has been involved in a variety of events both on campus and in the larger Tulsa area. President and founder of the university’s chapter, Abi Fogleman, recounted how she came to get involved with GGH and ultimately met the founder of Tulsa’s citywide chapter, Joslyn Mery-Massad. “I met Joslyn and immediately fell in love with the direct impact she was having on Gazan families in need.” Fogleman explained how she was inspired by Mery-Massad to charter a GGH organization on campus and elaborated on the organization’s mission saying, “The news does a lot to dehumanize people, especially those who don’t look like us, think like us, or live on the same continent as us. I knew our campus could benefit from some education and re-humanization of the Palestinian people and their suffering.” In this way, Fogleman hopes that the organization will have impacts both abroad and on campus, as it aims to curate a more understanding and compassionate climate concerning the humanitarian atrocities taking place in Palestine. Fogleman expresses that GGH aims to achieve this goal by providing a platform for education and discussion and by hosting speakers who are educated on the Palestinian humanitarian crisis along with the historical context in which it arose.
GGH has begun doing exactly this. Since being officially chartered last October, GGH has participated in several events, including the Spring Activities Fair and TU’s annual Homecoming Street Painting competition. GGH also hosted an event with TU’s History Club and Association of Arab Students last November, which featured a viewing of a documentary film of Palestinians in Gaza titled “Gaza Fights for Freedom,” followed by a talk from Pam Olson, Oklahoman author and journalist. After spending two years living and working as a journalist in Palestine, Olson published a book titled “Fast Times in Palestine: A Love Affair with a Homeless Homeland,” documenting her experiences with the aim of challenging Americans’ pre-constructed narratives of Palestinians and their complex culture.
More recently, GGH is planning to hold its first general body meeting Monday, Feb. 24 in Tyrell 2020 from 5:30-6:45, where they are hosting a meet and greet with Tulsa GGH’s founder, Mery-Massad herself and offering students the opportunity to speak with her. The meeting is open to anyone on campus who wishes to learn more about the long lasting and ongoing Palestinian humanitarian crisis or anyone who is looking for ways to directly help individuals impacted by Israeli occupation. Current President of the organization Abi Fogleman encourages those who are interested in getting involved and learning more to reach out to her at aef9404@utulsa.edu, stating, “We’re all here to learn, and we plan to use such a desire for knowledge to spread awareness and improve the culture of our campus.”