Help elementary school principal and his family leave Gaza

My name is Sarah Murphy Madia, and this is an effort to help my friend evacuate his family from Gaza.

How I know this family:

I've known Yousif for more than ten years. We first met in Cairo in 2013 when, through a chance encounter, I found myself proofreading the English in his PhD proposal. I soon returned to the US and Yousif went back to his family in Gaza, where he was an elementary school principal. But we remained friends, and over the years, we've chatted about life, war, our growing families, and the constant pursuit of education.

Who is Yousif?

Yousif is one of the most devoted learners and educators I've ever met. A longtime elementary school principal, he's as devoted to his students as he is to the pursuit of continuing education for himself. When I think about the people who will help rebuild Gazan society after this horrible assault is over, I think about Yousif and his lifelong commitment to educating young people in Gaza.

Why does this family need to leave Gaza?

Yousif, his wife and three of their children — two daughters, 20 and 17, and one son, age 7 (in photo above) — are now desperate to escape the horrific conditions in Gaza. They have seen their home in Gaza City destroyed by Israeli strikes and have endured multiple displacements. They are currently living in a tent in Dair El-Balah, in southern Gaza.

Tragically, Yousif and his wife already lost their 12-year-old daughter, Zaina, in February. Zaina suffered from a hereditary condition that required her to follow a special diet. For several months, Yousif wrote to me about searching in vain for the right foods for Zaina, whose health was deteriorating before his eyes. “My heart is shattered”, he wrote to me after she passed away in February.

Who is Omar?

Yousif’s oldest child, Omar Hamdona, 22, is in his fourth year of medical school in Zagazig, Egypt. He hopes to become either a cardiologist or a gastroenterologist. Amazingly, Omar has continued his studies without interruption since the beginning of Israel's assault on Gaza in October 2023.

The money raised through this fundraiser will be sent to Omar, who will use it to travel to the border and then secure passage of his family members from Gaza into Egypt. Because his parents have, until recently, paid for his education and living expenses in Egypt, Omar will also use a small amount of the funds just to keep himself afloat.

The current cost for one adult to pass from Gaza into Egypt is around $5000 USD.

Omar tells me that a public fundraiser is the last thing he ever expected to have to employ on behalf of his family. But like so many people in Gaza, his family is confronted with unthinkable conditions and they are forced to make excruciating choices.

Any amount donated will be deeply appreciated.

Here are some words from Omar:

“I am 22 years old. I have been studying and living in Egypt for four years.

My family consists of my father and mother, a six-year-old brother, and two sisters. I had a third sister, who we lost in this war.

For more than six months, my family has been suffering, as are many people in the Gaza Strip, from lack of food and drink and the lack of a safe place.

We lost our family home more than 5 months ago and were displaced from our place of residence to another place...

Everything we had we lost because of this brutal war...

I hope that my family will be able to travel outside Gaza and that you will help me in this matter so that we can protect the rest of our family.”

INFORMATION TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH GOFUNDME’S REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNDRAISERS:

I’m from Atlanta, USA, and I live in Brussels, Belgium.

At the end of this fundraiser, money raised will be transferred by me (Sarah) to Omar Hamdona (Yousif’s son) in Zagazig, Egypt, via Remitly. Omar will use the money to travel to the Rafah border and to pay for his family’s expenses related to crossing from Gaza into Egypt.