Hi,

My name is Guy Frere-Smith and I am fundraising for Rawda Abu Halabia who has worked tirelessly in very difficult circumstances in Gaza to achieve an unconditional offer for a masters at Glasgow university. She has been fully vetted by the University and is a student on the Gaza 40+ verified list of students that will be allowed to evacuate from Gaza in the UK government co-ordinated evacuation if she can acquire the necessary funding for her course. Please help if you can. Here she tells her own story.

Funding Appeal – Rawda Abu Halabia Academic and Professional Background .My name is Rawda Abu Halabia, and I studied Medical Laboratory Sciences. My passion for medical science has shaped both my academic and professional journey, leading me to work across various clinical and pathology laboratories. I currently work as a Pathology Laboratory Technologist at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza. During the war, I contributed to bringing a pathology laboratory into operation at the hospital, enabling it to provide diagnostic services to more than 1,000 cancer patients at a time when Gaza's healthcare system was severely disrupted. Experience in Cancer Diagnosis and Care Through this work, I witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of cancer, both physically and emotionally, particularly in a resource-limited setting such as Gaza, where access to advanced diagnostic technologies and modern cancer treatments is extremely limited. This reality also became deeply personal when a close friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer and was told that a complete mastectomy followed by chemotherapy was the only treatment option available to her. This experience strengthened my desire to understand cancer beyond its clinical presentation and to explore how advances in cancer research and precision medicine could contribute to more effective and personalised approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Motivation to Pursue Cancer Research The scientific community in Gaza has also been severely affected by the ongoing crisis. Many researchers and academics have been lost, research activities have been disrupted, and access to essential scientific resources has become increasingly limited. These experiences have motivated me to pursue advanced study in cancer research, with the goal of developing the scientific knowledge and research skills needed to contribute to more personalised and accessible approaches to cancer diagnosis and care in Gaza. I also hope to contribute, in the longer term, to rebuilding and strengthening Gaza's scientific and research community by sharing the knowledge and expertise I gain through postgraduate study. Why the University of Glasgow? For this reason, I applied to the MSc Cancer Research and Precision Oncology at the University of Glasgow, and I was delighted to receive an offer. The programme represents an important opportunity for me to build upon my background in pathology and develop advanced knowledge and research skills in areas including cancer biology, molecular oncology, biomarkers, and precision medicine. I hope to use this knowledge not only to advance my own professional development, but ultimately to contribute to improving cancer care and research capacity in Gaza. My long-term ambition is to bring this expertise back to my community and contribute to the medical and scientific institutions that have been so severely affected. Funding Requirement Receiving an offer is only the first step. Unfortunately, I do not currently have sufficient funding to cover the cost of my postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom, and financial support is essential for me to take up this opportunity. The tuition fee for the programme is £33,210, while I estimate that approximately £11,000 will be required to cover living and other essential costs during my studies. This brings the total estimated funding requirement to approximately £44,210. Financial support would therefore make a decisive difference in enabling me to accept this opportunity, continue my academic development, and work towards my long-term goal of contributing to cancer research and healthcare in Gaza.