Help Ahmed study & pursue gamedev outside Gaza

Ahmed Matar is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Nour Matar.

Donation protected

Update! (May 2025), The journey continues!

The past year has been wild! With the amazing support from all of you, I enrolled and studied at Futuregames and it couldn't have made me happier. Sadly I ended up getting stuck in Gaza and I had to transfer to Futuregames' Warsaw site to avoid dropping out. With Warsaw, I attended as am online student and took part in great projects and met a lot of cool new people.

However, due to issues with the Polish visa, I transferred back to Futuregames Sweden, and I'm departing to Malmö to join them onsite. The two sites have different tuition rates, but in general, it ended up being almost the same total cost (1k difference). You can see the tuition amounts in detail in the admission letter I attached below.

The last goal was for tuition and health insurance. My only hurdle remains living expenses during my studies, which is why I am extending the fundraiser goal. Per the Swedish migration agency requirements, I need to have at least 10,700 SEK per month. It’s generally advised that you have a little over the minimum requirement. That’s why I will aim for 11,000 SEK per month. Which amounts to 1,000 EUR.

Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Funds left from the last goal: 16,220 GBP = 19,060 EUR

Remaining Costs:

The rest of tuition: 13,800 EUR

Health Insurance: (200 x 17) 3,400 EUR

Travel Cost: 400 EUR

Residence Permit & transport to embassy cost: 200 EUR

(For the new goal) Per the Swedish migration agency requirements, I need to have at least 10,700 SEK per month. It’s generally advised that you have a little over the minimum requirement. That’s why I will aim for 11,000 SEK per month. Which amounts to 1,000 EUR.

17 months x 1,000 = 17,000 EUR

Total amount needed:

17,000 + 17,800

= 34,800 EUR

Total new funds needed =

(Total of all remaining costs) 34,800 – (Already raised funds) 19,000

= 15,800 EUR

~ 13,450 GBP

I already have 1k left of my last goal that I didn’t meet so I only need raise the bar by 12,500. However, to accommodate for fundraiser fees, the goal is extended by 13,500 GBP.

This is the breakdown how the funds were used so far:

800 EUR tuition payment (secure seat deposit)

1780 EUR, First tuition installment

2580 EUR, Second tuition installment

340 USD (2 months coworking space x 170 USD), I don’t have proper internet & electricity at home. The coworking space was a lifesaver.

50$ Application fee to HOWEST University, 200 CAD application fee to Think tank Training Center. When I found out about Poland’s visa issues, I explored other game dev education opportunities before I transferred back to Futuregames Sweden.

55$ x 6 = 330 USD, Subscription to Real-time VFX education. I want to end up as a technical artist :)) or least try.

Original fundraiser story (May 2024):

I am Ahmed Matar. I am 19-year-old aspiring game developer and self-taught artist. I have been passionate about 3D creation and game development since I was 10. And since then, I have been pursuing the goal of becoming a game developer and working the in the games industry.

I have made many 3D artworks, participated in Group Challenges, and even joined development of a fan game. I am quite passionate about stylized fantasy worlds, both sci-fi and medieval settings. Most of my work as a 3D artist revolve around these 2 themes.

My dreams, aspirations, and goals. All came crashing down when the war started, as I bared witness to the destruction of my city, neighborhood, places, and memories so dear to my heart.

On the 13th of October last year, we were ordered to evacuate to the South of Gaza Strip. I left my house, my only home with nothing but my laptop and some cloths, assuming I will come back in matter of hours, or days at most. I was wrong. Since that day, I have evacuated to 12 different places. Most of them were utterly unfit for basic survival.

I am currently taking shelter in the City of Deir El Balah. I was going to evacuate Gaza, however, the Rafah crossing was closed as Israel invaded the crossing, thus cutting off the only way out of Gaza. I plan to evacuate to safety in Egypt as soon as the crossing reopens.

I have recently received an offer from Futuregames, a top game development school in Sweden, to study their Game Artist program in the city of Karlstad. This offer has opened a beacon of hope for me, showing a light at the end of this torturous tunnel. Unfortunately, due to exhausting all resources my family had because of the war, I cannot afford to study at Futuregames.

Securing funds to study at Futuregames will not only allow me to obtain top-notch education in game development, but secure a safe and effective path for me to study and work in the career of my dreams. As of now, Gaza remains a pile of rubble and disease, empty of any hope for a bright future for education or otherwise. I humbly ask you to consider donating to help me safely pursue education and grow my passion away from death and destruction.

The Game Artist program is 2-year diploma. As non-EU international student, I need to pay 20,000 EURO for tuition. The program will take place in Karlstad, which has living costs for students around 750 EUR per month. Moreover, as a foreign student I need to have a comprehensive health insurance which costs 200 EUR per month in Sweden.

For now, I aim to collect funds for the tuition and health insurance costs.

Here's a full breakdown of the costs:

Tuition: 20,000 EUR (5,000 per semester)

Health insurance: 4,800 EUR (200 per month X 24 months)

Travel Costs: 400 EUR

Residence Permit and Visa fees: 200 EUR

Total: 25,000 EUR

Since the funds are going to be withdrawn in GBP. The total, at the current conversion rate, will be 21,250 GBP.

With the estimated fundraiser fees of 1,800 GBP. It brings the total to 23,000 GBP

The funds will be going to my sister's account, who currently resides in the UK.

Conversion rate information: https://www.oanda.com/currency-converter/en/?from=EUR&to=GBP&amount=25000

Every donation regardless of amount will go a long way in aiding me to have a brighter future