Donate to Secure a Safe Future for Hamza's Family

My name is Ghada Jiha. I live in Pearland, Texas and, as his mentor and friend, I am organizing this fundraiser for Hamza Ibrahim and his family who are in Gaza. The funds will be used to help Hamza and his family to get through these cold, winter months and to cover their evacuation costs when the border crossings open. Funds will be collected in a separate US bank account under my name and I will be responsible for transferring them to Hamza's family.

About Hamza (by Hamza) and the Ibrahim family

Salam. My name is Hamza N. Ibrahim. I come from a family of five children, four of whom are in Gaza together with my parents. We are:

Nadia Ibrahim, mother, 53 years old

Nidal Ibrahim, father, 53 years old

Noor Ibrahim, sister, 25 years old

Diaa Ibrahim, brother, 20 years old

Odai Ibrahim, brother, 15 years old

me (Hamza), brother, 23 years old

In the summer of 2023, I graduated from Gaza's Al Azhar University with a degree in English Language and Teaching Methods; I had a job teaching English to secondary school students and I had joined a cohort of students at We Are Not Numbers, an organization that cultivates the next generation of Palestinian writers and leaders to tell their stories. See my stories here: https://wearenotnumbers.org/contributors/hamza-n-ibrahim/

I was also excitedly pursuing the idea of an earning a graduate student scholarship to study journalism abroad. Which I got ... to the New School in New York City.

Life took an abrupt U-turn in October 2023. Growing up in Gaza conditions you to hardships. I am 23 years old and this is the 6th war I've lived through. Nothing, however, compares to this one in terms of the epic scale of destruction, mass deaths and loss that we have endured for more than 14 months.

Since the outbreak of war, my family and I have been displaced from our home in Gaza City; we have evacuated more than ten times across the entire length of the Gaza Strip - north, central, and south in search of elusive safety and exhausted our family savings. We are currently living in the Nuseirat refugee camp in a tent, that provides little protection from Gaza's wet and cold winter months. With only a trickle of international aid entering Gaza particularly in the last two months, each day, we spend hours struggling to find food and potable water. The canned food distributed by aid agencies is often expired or rotten; the few goods available in the market are exorbitantly priced and beyond the reach of just about anyone. My family has not seen nor tasted fresh produce or meat in more than a year.

In addition to these deprivations, we live under the ever-present danger of aerial strikes and bombardment and in the inescapable shadow of death. Nuseirat was the site of especially heavy bombing a few days ago that claimed the life of a close friend and his entire family while they were sleeping. We have lost so much in this relentless war: family members, childhood friends, teachers and mentors, our home, livelihoods, and the Gaza we knew.

And yet we steadfastly hold to our right to a future. We want what all free people have: a life of dignity, safety, security, and the possibilities of realizing our dreams. Through this campaign, I am humbly appealing to your generosity. All I hope for is to give my family a chance to start anew, far away from the violence and devastation we countenance in our daily lives.

The funds raised will be used to help my family get through these winter months; to cover the costs of our evacuation from Gaza when the border crossings open; and to support my family in the initial months of settling in Egypt. I am reaching out for your help, as this may be our last chance to escape this war and to save my family.

Fundraising Goal: USD 40,000

1. Monthly living costs (Gaza) x 6 : USD 6,000

2. Evacuation fees: USD 27,500

(USD 5,000/adult X 5 adults + USD 2,500/child X 1 (under 18 years old)

3. Initial move-in and living costs (Egypt): USD 5,000

4. Miscellaneous/incidentals: USD 1,500

Any donation, no matter how small, will make a meaningful difference for my family. Your contribution will help build the lifeline my family needs to start a new chapter. Every dollar will go towards securing a safe future for my family, away from this devastating conflict. If you are unable to donate, please share our campaign widely with your friends, family and other networks.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and thank you for taking any action in support of my family. Your kindness and humanity are the light that guides us out of this darkness.

With gratitude,

Hamza N. Ibrahim