A ray of hope for me and my family in Gaza

Jan Barsik is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

We never imagined, my small family and I, that things would take such a frightening turn that overshadowed all the places in the city of Gaza.

The war is still ongoing here, and everything has changed as if life has come to a complete halt, and goals have temporarily shifted. We wake up every morning searching for any source to bring clean water and what little canned goods are left for my family as a substitute for the food we used to consume. Three months have passed so far, and we don't know where we are heading or what the future holds for our two daughters, Sarah who is 3 and Salma who is 1, both awaiting a future without clear prospects.

On the ninth of October, the building that housed our beautiful apartment, filled with all our memories, was bombed. Everything was lost after we left it there the day before, hoping for a soon return. Since that date, we have been moving from house to house with some simple belongings we managed to take with us, as there is no safe place to stay.

In these times, my small family and I are residing in the house of a relative, along with my parents and siblings, after they were forced to leave their own house, which was also targeted and completely destroyed.

Before the war, and before things turned upside down, I worked as a teacher at the College of Applied Sciences. I helped and guided many students and individuals in the field of information technology after receiving a scholarship and graduating with honors from the Australian SAE College in Jordan. I returned to my homeland after three years to build leaders who serve the community.

In addition, my husband lost his job with a company in Saudi Arabia and couldn't even continue freelancing in the translation field on Upwork due to the lack of regular internet services and electricity after the infrastructure in our city was destroyed.

Things are still dire here, and everything is worsening day by day. There is no independent refuge yet, and the prices of everything have multiplied three to five times, including food, drinks, and clothing. There are no clinics, hospitals, universities, or schools. They have all become places where families seek shelter.

We didn't want to surrender to all this chaos. But, after losing our homes, possessions, and many friends and acquaintances who lost their lives, we wanted to continue our journey even if it meant moving to another country to educate our children, work, and lead a simple life.

After much hardship, we reached out to some friends abroad to find a way out of this apocalyptic place, and to move forward to achieve more successes as we used to. It will require covering the coordination costs to enter the Egyptian side, which has increased due to the war and the complexity of the situation in the region. Then, we aim to reach Jordan to continue our work and educate our children who are waiting for their right to life, until things normalize in our beloved country.

This will involve paying various coordination and exit costs. Due to the difficulty and complexity of the departure procedures from Gaza through the Egyptian Rafah crossing and then to another country, the fees are amounting to around $40,000 in CAD. One person alone needs around 9,000 CAD to cross the border into Egypt alone. So this amount is needed to get me, my husband, and two children out, what's left of the money will help us get a bit settled and plan our way into which country we can start fresh in.

Our friend, Jan Barsik, will be working on this campaign at our request and managing this fundraiser, as internet access is very limited in Gaza. She currently lives in Canada and is here to answer any questions you may have and offer her support in helping us get out of Gaza as soon as possible.

Your help is a crucial part of restoring hope, and because we have enough love and passion to build a happy life for our children, we are doing all this now in the hope that this crisis will end soon.

Finally, Sarah, our eldest daughter who is three years old, loves drawing very much. She has been passionate about it throughout her childhood and loves colors. Here is of my sweet Sarah's creations, she truly deserves to live the happiest and most beautiful life."