Help Riyad “Uncle Nivo” Support His Family and Keep Bringing Joy to Gaza’s Children
Welcome, compassionate person,
I’m Melissa, and I’m based in the U.S. I’ve been a mutual aid organizer for families in Gaza since early 2024. I work closely with each family, stay in regular contact, and personally coordinate every donation transfer. Receipts are always available.
This fundraiser is for Riyad Anzar and his family.
Riyad, known to children across Gaza as Uncle Nivo, is a clown and circus performer from Gaza City. At the start of the war, his home was bombed, and he lost his wife, his sister, his brother, and his nieces. He was later injured in a separate attack and lost the sight in his right eye.
Riyad, 30, has since remarried. He and his wife Shatha, 26, have a four-month-old daughter, Sham. The family currently lives in a rented room in a damaged building.
Even after everything he has lost, Riyad has continued working as Uncle Nivo, traveling between tents and displacement centers to perform for children who have lived through the same war he has. This fundraiser supports his family’s basic needs and helps him continue that work.
Funds raised will help provide:
• Food and household essentials
• Rent for their room
• Medical treatment for Riyad’s eye injury
• Costumes, props, and supplies for his performances
• Support so he can continue traveling to displacement camps to perform
In his own words:
“My name is Riyad, but children know me as Uncle Nivo.
Before the war, I lived a simple life with my family. At the beginning of the war in Gaza, our home was bombed and completely destroyed. In a matter of moments, I lost my wife, my sister, my brother, and my nieces. The pain of that loss is beyond words.
The tragedy did not end there. Some time later, I was seriously injured in another attack, which caused me to lose the sight in my right eye. Today, I live with vision in only one eye.
Despite everything I have lost, I refused to let the war take away my humanity or my purpose. Instead, I chose to become a source of hope for children who have experienced fear, loss, and trauma, just as I have.
Today, I work as a clown and circus performer under the name Uncle Nivo. I travel between tents and displacement centers, bringing smiles to the faces of children who have survived the war. Through games, performances, and laughter, I try to give them moments of joy, safety, and relief — even if only for a few minutes — in a reality filled with fear and sadness.
I am a man who lost his home, much of his family, and part of his eyesight. Yet I still believe that a child’s smile can give life a new meaning.
Your support does not only help me — it helps me continue reaching children and spreading hope among them during some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable in Gaza.”
When you give to Riyad, you’re helping a small family survive — and helping Uncle Nivo keep bringing joy to the children of Gaza who have lost so much.
Follow Riyad’s journey on Instagram:
