This is Baraa Alhendawi a Palestinian 6th year medical student who is trying to find a peaceful path for his family. With great sadness. I am reaching out to you today for help getting my family, including me, out of Gaza to Canada.

Being the oldest son of my six family members, I always had many responsibilities. During this war in Gaza, I was pushed to add other huge responsibilities to my list, such as evacuating my family members from 5 partially bombed houses, finding the next place that could probably be more secure to move my family into, and walking +12 km to buy home essentials on a daily basis.

The War in Gaza

I am writing our familial story on the 166th day of the war, until today +100 thousand civilians have been killed/ severely injured and +2 million civilians have been displaced from their homes to live in streets’ corners, public spaces, and shopping stores. Furthermore, +70% of the city buildings have been totally/ partially destroyed, including 28 out of 36 hospitals/ healthcare centers and almost all the universities/ educational institutions’ campuses.

The world can watch what civilians are suffering from through the partition published in media, though every single one in Gaza has a dramatic story to tell. Talking on behalf of my family, we have pushed to change our place of accommodation 8 times since October 2023. We left our nice and warm home on the 4th day of the war due to crazy airstrikes targeting our neighborhood. Since that moment, we have lost about 20 relatives and hundreds of friends, who have a lot of dreams to achieve and passions to follow. The feeling of insecurity could be annoying, however it is actually fatal in Gaza, as you have no doubt that you could be the next person to be killed at any clicking second.

Alhendawi Family:

As mentioned, I am a 6th-year medical student who was working with different associations in terms of medical education, research, and public relations, and who has represented Palestinian medical students on 2 international occasions. I was planning to complete my MD degree and internship year, then travel abroad to specialize in Oncoplastic Breast Surgery in Canada (the specialization that I dream of). Now I am not sure if I will stay alive to join the elective course of Cambridge University in Breast Surgery next August.

My dad, Hussein is a Full Professor of Organic Chemistry and University Lecturer who has built a career experience through the last 28 years. He thinks that he lost his compass in the middle of the ocean so now he is searching for a convenient job offer to complete his scientific journey in Canada and save his family members to chase their very normal dream of living in a safe environment.

My mom, Hanaa, is an elementary school teacher at a UNRWA school who prepares online educational materials for her students and watches them participate in activities through the class WhatsApp group. Now, she checks her WhatsApp inbox periodically to see how many children will miss her lessons and move into another class in heaven.

My sister, Malak, is a third-year architectural engineering student who is amazing at drawing, has a wide imagination, and pays attention to details. She has worked really hard to be a successful engineer with high qualifications so that she can continue her studies abroad. Now, the city has no buildings to draw and study from an architectural point of view.

My brother, Hamza is an 18-year-old high school student who was searching a punch of browsers looking for a scholarship to study a bachelor's degree in computer engineering in a prestigious Canadian University. However, he is now serving his phone’s gallery on his school’s remaining stones after totally destroying it.

My brother, Samer is a 13-year-old preparatory school student who was obsessed with video games and the latest version of FIFA to download on his PlayStation, the one that was burned in our home 4 months ago.

Last night, I told my younger brother Samer that I have a way to save our lives, which is creating this fundraiser, and he asked me, “Will you succeed in collecting the funds that will help us evacuate Gaza before passing away at any moment?”. I could not answer his question, but your generous donations can. So please help me collect the travel costs for my 6 members family.

Why This Fundraiser Matters?

Creating a fundraiser on GoFundMe is something that I have done to crowdfund for some medical events and training workshops, but I could not imagine that creating a fundraiser may save my family members’ lives. Throughout the last harsh 166 days that felt like 166 years, I was able to find 9 different places for my family to stay in as the 9th place is 1 km away from the cross border with Egypt and 44 km away from our home (the last geographical area to escape to). I managed the cash withdrawal process, which could be almost impossible in such circumstances from my parents’ bank accounts, hundreds of people were leaving their homes to withdraw some cash for their families but they returned to them as dead bodies due to the random bombing. Leaving Gaza to go elsewhere, I need permission to cross the borders that require 6000 USD per person, which means 36,000 USD for my 6 members family. That is unaffordable for a family that lost its 2 houses, especially when the essential goods’ prices are x20 and they are not receiving their full salary amount on a regular basis for the last 6 months. Yesterday, a nearby building was bombed breaking most of the windows and doors of our accommodation site, therefore, we decided to create this fundraiser as our last choice of evacuating Gaza alive to start a very new life in Canada where we dream to live, study, and work in.

Funds Breakdown:

In order to facilitate my family’s evacuation from Gaza to Canada, I am setting up a GoFundMe campaign to raise $60,936. Here is the breakdown of the funds:

• A total of $3,456 will be used to cover GoFundMe’s transaction fees (2.9% plus $0.3 per donation).

• As total of $36,000 has been allocated to cover expenses associated with obtaining permits to leave Gaza, at the Egypt-Gaza border. This amount breaks down to $6,000 per person including my 6 members family.

• It is estimated that $4,080 will be sufficient to cover our basic needs in Egypt including the accommodation, food, transportations, and other essentials.

• The visa issuing costs and flight tickets from Cairo to Canada will be $7,800.

• $9,600 will be the cost of living one month in Canada for a 6-member family.

Conclusion:

Make sure that every donation no matter how small it is will answer Samer’s question and may save our lives. So please consider donating $50, $100, or any other amount that you think this family deserves. Your donation will get us closer to our target and hope. The funds raised will be used transparently and efficiently to ensure that every dollar is spent on ensuring this family’s safety.

My family and I are deeply grateful for your support, and I am deeply grateful for any assistance you may be able to provide during this difficult time. Please be one of the donors of this campaign and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues so that we can reach our goal and provide our safety. Please accept my massive thanks for your kindness and support, as well as your willingness to stand with us in solidarity, as together, we can make a difference and help my family find safety and security.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I would be very grateful if you share this with your network.

Baraa's Instagram Account

Baraa,

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I am organizing this campaign on behalf of the Alhendawi family to help them evacuate Gaza as soon as possible, as I will be sending all the funds collected to the Alhendawi family outside GoFundMe; this is to ensure that every single dollar gathered will be used transparently to help them starts a very new life.

With love and blessings,

Zaid Muhtaseb