Help Maysaa and her children in Gaza

This fundraiser is to help me, Maysaa, and my husband and three young sons, reach safety in Egypt. Every day in Gaza is a nightmare, and this is our last hope. Here is our story.

On 13 October we were forced to leave our home in Gaza City and move south. We had a beautiful home that I was so proud of - the boys' bedrooms were decorated with their favourite toys, and every evening when I got home from work I would cook delicious traditional food for us to share. It was a happy family home.

We fled to Khan Younis and were forced to live in a shelter with over 20,000 other people, with barely any water or food. We lost weight and got sick. After 3 months there, the shelter was surrounded by Israeli tanks and intensive shelling began.

Many died when the shelter was attacked but we managed to escape and were forced to move again, this time to a tent further south in Al Mawasi. We are still there. It is cold, wet, and there is almost no food, water, or hygiene facilities. It is no place for children - the other day my two-year-old picked up an unexploded remnant of a shell, beside our tent, thinking he could play with it (fortunately I spotted it quickly enough).

It pains me that my lovely boys now have no childhood to speak of, and that I must watch them lose weight and grow sick because I cannot provide them fresh food or enough food.

The worst thing is to see my children frightened. The shelling is non-stop and close, it makes them shake with fear. I still cannot believe how much they have lost - their home, their school, family and friends, three meals a day, and so much more.

I cannot see how we could ever return to the rubble where our beloved home once was. My husband and I both studied hard to qualify as health and development professionals, and worked hard for years in jobs helping others. Our only hope now is to try to leave for Egypt, where we can work again and rebuild lives of safety and dignity for our family. We dream of seeing our kids playing and studying again.

Your generous funds will assist us to escape Gaza. My husband is a qualified nurse with a masters in crisis and disaster management, and he has been accepted as a PHD candidate in an Egyptian university. I have worked in social services and development and have also been accepted for a PHD program with a full scholarship (a precious opportunity to me, valid until May this year). Given the opportunity, we can build a good life in Egypt, supporting our family and contributing to the economy.

We are desperate for safety. You can not imagine the huge and massive destruction around us. There is no home or life for us to return to in Gaza.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any support, big or small.

Your contribution will go towards the following:

Every gift is highly appreciated. And please, if you are kind enough to help rescue us from the nightmare we are living through in Gaza, share our story with your friends.

I thank you deeply, and I thank you from the innocent hearts of my kids.

All love and respect,

Maysaa x

NB. Please note this fundraiser was set up for me by a friend and former colleague in Australia - one of the handful of countries which GoFundMe operates in. Funds raised will be transferred through wire services that are still operating in Gaza. We pray that we will be able to leave Gaza - thank you for giving us hope of a better life!