My name is Amira Al-Asttal, and I am a 19 year old student from Gaza, where my family and I have been living through the genocide, repeated displacement and the loss of an ordinary life.

Despite everything that has happened, I have held onto to the dream of education. I wish to study Psychology and ultimately become a doctor.

This dream became even stronger when I went to a hospital and saw children and mothers suffering. I saw things that are difficult to put into words and I promised myself that one day I would complete my education and work to improve people’s lives however I could.

This moment happened during my high school years under blockade and constant bombing. I realised that studying hard for my exams was the best thing I could do for myself, my future and my community. Even as I was displaced and starved with my family, I never stopped studying and my family encouraged this. Last year I received my Tawjihi (High School) results of 95%, one of the highest scores of my year, and so I look to further my education and fulfil my dream of becoming a doctor despite the destruction around me including all the universities in Gaza.

I began to apply for programmes abroad and was successfully offered the opportunity to continue my education in the United Kingdom, studying a Psychology degree that can give me the foundation to pursue my ambition of working in medicine and healthcare.

For someone studying from a displacement in Gaza, this opportunity means more than I can express. It is a chance to continue the education that war interrupted and to turn years of study, determination and hope into something real.

But I cannot do this alone.

I am raising funds to help cover the costs necessary for me to take up this opportunity and rebuild my life as a student — including my tuition fees, travel and the living costs involved in beginning again in the UK.

I have already received sponsorship for my first undergraduate year but this is not enough to apply for my student visa and I need to show funding for the full degree.

Every donation, no matter how small, brings me closer to a future that once seemed impossible.

Sharing my story is also a form of support, please do.

My ambition is not simply to leave Gaza and build a better life for myself. I want the education I receive to mean something beyond me. I hope one day to use what I learn to serve communities and to contribute to a future in which young Palestinians can heal and build.

Thank you for believing in my education, my future and my dream.

Amira