My name is Khaled Zeyada, I’m 21 years old, I’m a student of information technology, and I live in the Gaza Strip.

My life has been extremely difficult for the past 2 years. My livelihood and my dreams were torn into pieces, my hopes and expectations were destroyed, and many of the people I loved the most were killed. Donald Trump’s peace plan hasn’t made our lives easier: the occupation is still doing all it can to erase us. But the world’s eyes aren’t on us anymore.

The hardship of war prompted me focus on what really matters: love, peace, solidarity, hope, faith, and the beauty of the tiny, fleeting moments of happiness. I’m very thankful for my family: we were always close and loving.

I am from a family of 5 brothers: Ahmed, Bilal, Osama, myself and my younger brother Omar.

My older brothers Ahmed and Bilal blessed us with my nieces and nephews: Shaimaa, 8, Mohammed, 7, Ali, 5, Bilal, 2, Mohammed, 6, Hour, 2, and Fares, who’s only a few weeks old.

It’s been 2 years of living in a war zone. I saw our house destroyed, our whole city of Rafah destroyed. I lost so many of my cousins, uncles, aunts, to killings at the hands of the occupation. So many of my friends too. And with those who are still alive, we were separated. I was always a very social person, and now I can’t see my friends anymore. I’ve been inhaling plastic smokes every time I cook, because firewood is too expensive so we burn plastic instead. I’ve been having stomach cramps when I go to sleep because of hunger because I don’t eat every day, and back pain in the morning because I sleep in a tent with no mattress, only a couple blankets between me and the floor,

And on top of this, I lived whole life of never leaving the Gaza Strip and not knowing anything but life under occupation.

But you can help me today.

I need your help to secure:

➡️ Food for myself and for my whole family. We’re not demanding, we can live with beans and bread and hummus every day. But we’d like to make sure we eat one meal per day per person.

➡️⛺️ Shelter, because our family is scattered in tents and makeshift shelters in warehouses and abandoned warehouses across the Gaza Strip, some of us are very near the sea, and winter is coming.

➡️ Clothing, because we have almost nothing: we thought we were going to leave our house for a couple of days, now it’s been 2 years and our whole neighbourhood was flattened. Winter is coming, the marine air is very cold. And our immune systems are weakened from malnutrition and stress and exposure to toxic chemicals.

➡️⚡️ Electricity and internet, so I can keep in contact with you.

➡️ My studies, because I want to graduate as an information technology engineer, and I’m still working very hard toward this, paying my tuition fees, and taking classes and exams online.

➡️ Medicine and medical care, because people in my family fall ill regularly. My mother has high blood pressure. My uncle has cancer. Children get sick in winter. Covid and the flu are a thing in Gaza too.

Even $5 or $10 can help me take one small step toward holding on to hope and thinking of a happier future.

If you’ve already donated, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. May God reward you for your selflessness and your generosity.

If you can share my story again today — even with just one group or one friend — it could make all the difference.

Thank you for reading, thank you for your support, it means much more than you can imagine to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank every person who has helped us in this time of unimaginable hardship. Your kindness, compassion, and generosity are a lifeline for my family.

Please keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers. ♥️

Fundraiser organized by Fabio Manganiello, a friend of Khaled