Help Ahmad Rebuild His Future From Rubble

I’m  Ahmed, a computer‑science student who once dreamt of an ordinary future—just a steady job writing code and a quiet life with my family in Gaza.

--The Night That Shattered Everything

In mid‑October 2023, a sudden air‑strike levelled the house my grandfather had built—brick by brick—over generations. Neighbours clawed me out from under the rubble. All we had left were the clothes on our backs and the dust still clinging to our skin.

--A Year and a Half in Canvas

With nothing to shelter us, we fled south to Rafah and spent the next eighteen months in a tent that blocked neither sun nor rain. Food was scarce, water scarcer, and every night felt colder than the last. Those conditions could easily have become an excuse to give up, yet something inside me refused.

--Borrowed Keys to a Future

I borrowed a battered laptop from a relative and began piecing my education back together. Free YouTube playlists became my classrooms; the glow of a cracked screen, my only teacher.

Dawn to dusk routine: wake before sunrise, hike to the nearest working outlet, charge the laptop, then trek to any spot with a faint Wi‑Fi signal.

Months of grit: through sheer repetition I picked up new skills, pushed my first open‑source code to GitHub, and mentored other students online who were trapped in the same blackout.

--Displaced Again, but Unbroken

After six months, another evacuation order forced us to leave Rafah for a desolate stretch near the sea in Deir al‑Balah. Life there was even harsher: the closest internet point lay a 90‑minute walk away. Still, I rose before dawn, shuffled from the charging station to that single hotspot, and coded until my battery flashed red.

Six More Months, One Big Break

During that half‑year I emailed dozens of non‑profits, pleading for any kind of academic support. One answered: an edX subscription. Suddenly, the world’s best courses were open again—if only my connection held long enough to download the lectures.

--A Small Victory

July 2025

After emailing more than 50 universities and NGOs from inside the tent, I earned the Future Skills Academy scholarship to take the Meta Front‑End Developer Specialization. It was the first official document with my name since the war.

— Where I Stand Today

I’m still living under siege, still chasing electricity and bandwidth like drifting sparks. Yet I’ve finished entire programming tracks, built projects anyone can copy offline, and kept the ember of hope alive for classmates who lost everything too.

Launched 14 live websites for local shops, NGOs, and small startups—every line of code is open on my GitHub for full transparency.

Selected for Gaza Sky Geeks’ “Code 2 Career” boot‑camp, drilling deep into React 19, Tailwind CSS, Node.js, and cloud tooling so I’m job‑ready

the moment a door opens.

War tried to erase my future; each line of code I write — and each act of kindness you offer — pulls it back into view.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for turning darkness into possibility.

--Why I Need Your Help Now

University College Dublin has said: “If you reach us, we’ll teach you.”

Ireland feels like oxygen: a place where the loudest sound in class is pages turning, not sirens.

But before I can reach that silence, a wall of costs blocks the door.

Blocked‑account funds & year‑one tuition---: 25 000€

IELTS, translation, embassy trips---: 2 000€

✈️One‑way flight + 1 st month rent---: 3 000€

Emergency food/fuel/meds for my family---: 10 000€

Total lifeline: ≈ 40 000€

--A Note from the Heart

“When our roof collapsed, I thought the sky had fallen too. I later realised the sky is too wide to crush a dream. Every donation—even a simple share—rebuilds my life brick by brick, line of code by line of code, until the day I can finally deploy hope in production.”

--How You Can Help

-Donate through the link provided.

-Share this story with friends, communities, and organisations.

-Offer a scholarship, mentorship, or spare devices if you can.

-Together, we can turn rubble into classrooms and a tent into a lab of creativity.