From Teacher to Survivor — A Family’s Struggle in Gaza ✌

My name is Loay. I’m a husband and a father to a baby girl who was born in the heart of war.

I’m from Gaza, and before October 7, 2023, I was an English teacher, a man who believed in building futures through education.

I had just recently gotten married. We had only begun to build our life together, full of dreams and hope.

I had a small, beautiful home, modest but full of warmth.

But the war came suddenly, violently, and in one moment, everything I had spent years building… was gone.

Now, that home is rubble. The life I waited so long to begin was stolen before it even had a chance to blossom.

My wife and my newborn daughter we now live in a torn tent, exposed to the heat, the cold, and the fear. There is no privacy, no safety, and no certainty of tomorrow.

Once, my greatest concern was how to inspire my students and help them graduate as strong, capable individuals. Today, my only concern is finding enough food to keep my family alive for one more day. Every moment is a battle, not just against hunger and displacement, but against despair.

Your support, no matter how small, brings warmth, dignity, and life to people who have lost everything. From the depth of my heart, thank you for seeing us, for feeling with us, and for standing beside us.