Help Nurse Shaima with living costs in Gaza

Hello, it’s Donna here. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m currently volunteering in Egypt with The Hands Up Project, helping to create an educational space for Palestinian children. Today, I'd like to share the story of someone extraordinary—Shaima, the little sister of a dear friend, Raja’a.

Earlier this year, Raja’a made a heroic journey across the Rafah border with her five children, securing a safer future for them. This was only possible thanks to the generosity of so many supporters, and for that, we are endlessly grateful. But now, it’s Shaima’s turn to need our help.

Shaima, 24, is a qualified general nurse who has chosen to stay behind in Northern Gaza, volunteering day and night in unimaginably dangerous conditions. She receives no salary for her tireless work—only food packages, which she cherishes in an area devastated by endless violence and famine.

Three years ago, when Shaima proudly graduated as a nurse, she never imagined her career would begin as a humanitarian nurse in her war-torn homeland. She has witnessed horrors no one should, and yet she continues to bring hope and healing to those around her. Shaima works in the neonatal unit, where she finds brief moments of joy helping new lives enter the world. But what kind of life awaits these children in a place that has become the most dangerous in the world?

Despite the dangers, Shaima remains deeply committed to her patients and her calling. Her dedication is so profound that she stayed behind even as her family left six months ago. With military forces surrounding the hospital where she works, she risks her life daily, stealing quick moments to send messages to her sister: “I am alive, and I love you.”

If you could meet Raja’a and her family, you’d know they are some of the most compassionate and resilient people you could ever encounter. Shaima is no different. She dreams of using her nursing skills to help people in a safer environment—something she cannot do while trapped in Gaza.

This is where we come in… Our goal is to raise £2,000 in total, to cover Shaima’s living costs, as the food prices are astronomical right now as the country is plunged into famine.

If Shaima survives this war, she hopes to leave Gaza and gain employment in the NHS. We know how to support this but right now she needs food to stay alive.

Let’s give Shaima the chance she deserves—a chance for safety, a career, and the opportunity to continue her incredible work, free from the fear of violence. I honestly think we can do this & just imagine that moment when we finally do! I already have tears in my eyes.

Thanks for reading this, and we’ll hear from Raja’a and Shaima over the coming weeks…