Dear friends and kind hearts,

My name is Alaa. I am a mother, a wife, and a passionate mathematics teacher from Gaza. Before the current crisis upended our lives, I was living my dream year after year, achieving top ranks among my peers, devoted to inspiring my students and helping them succeed. Today, instead of solving equations in a classroom, the current situation has forced me to focus entirely on a daily struggle for our survival.

My 3-year-old son, Osama, is my entire life. Despite the unbearable circumstances we face daily, nothing matters more to me than keeping him safe, providing his basic needs, and making him smile through these dark times. Seeing his happiness is the sole purpose of my life.

But our reality is heavier than words can describe. Together in the same difficult conditions, we live as a large interconnected family. I am managing our household while also holding the responsibility of assisting my own family of 8 members (including my widowed mother and young siblings) and my husband’s family of 7 individuals.

Despite the daily challenges, I have never stopped striving to achieve my dream. I always aspired to become the best math teacher in Gaza, and I was living that dream year after year, achieving top ranks among my peers. My heart has always been devoted to learning and mathematics, and I dreamed of inspiring students and helping them succeed, but the current situation forced me to focus on daily struggles instead of my aspirations.

In addition to caring for my child and managing the household, I also assist my family of 8 members and my husband's family, which consists of 7 individuals. We all live together in the same difficult conditions, as if life is putting us through a constant test.

I launched this campaign to seek support in providing our basic needs and also to facilitate completing the paperwork for my Turkish citizenship, which I can obtain due to my Turkish roots. This citizenship will be a new beginning and an opportunity for a better life for me and my family.

I am grateful to everyone who contributes to this campaign. With your donations, I can continue to give the best I can to my family and my child, and hold on to hope for the future. You are the hope we need, and I will never forget your support.