Last year, Dad completed the Big Ride for Palestine for the second time. This is an annual nationwide fundraising event that takes place every year throughout July and August. I only started cycling this year, and I am so excited that, on 8 August, I will be joining him to cycle in this year’s Big Ride for Palestine.

We are riding to raise funds for the Sunbirds, a para-cycling team from Gaza. The team was founded by Alaa al-Dali, an Olympic hopeful cyclist, after he was hit in the leg whilst watching the Great March of Return. Alaa's leg was amputated from below the knee, but he did not give up his dream, and channeled his energies into establishing an amputee cycling team within Gaza — the Gaza Sunbirds, with the hope that they would defy the odds to compete in Paris 2024. While Alaa al Dali and Mohammed Asfour, two of the Sunbirds evacuated the strip in 2024 in order to compete on the global stage, the rest of the team remains in Gaza where they are delivering vital aid and supporting their local communities.

Here are the Sunbirds’ Aims for 2026:

1.⁠ ⁠International competitions- help the Sunbirds get to LA 2026.

2. Aid in Gaza- help the Sunbirds to continue to work with local partners to deliver food aid in Gaza.

3. Sports in Gaza- help the Sunbirds continue to provide rehab and sports therapy for those who have been injured in the genocide.

4. Sports around the world- help the Sunbirds support Palestinians in the diaspora to train and compete in sports- offering professional tracks to compete with Team Palestine.

To learn more about the Sunbirds, visit this page:

https://www.amostrust.org/palestine-justice/gaza/gaza-sunbirds/