I am fundraising on behalf of Manar and her daughter Lama. The young mother and daughter are displaced in Gaza and require evacuation for urgent medical attention. Manar's husband Abdulluh and their two younger children Taqa and Hamza were killed when their home was bombed on July 12th of 2024, on Hamza's 1st birthday. Manar and Lama survived but suffered severe burns and injuries from the attack and desperately need to be evacuated to a hospital in Egypt.

They need help covering the costs for their food, drinking water, basic medical care, and to pay for their eventual evacuation, which could cost anywhere between $5,000-10,000 per person to cross the border. Prices for food and essential items are astronomically high in Gaza because of the blockade. They suffer reoccurring infections and illnesses from poor sanitation and the lack of hygiene products and clean drinking water. Any amount you can spare goes a long way. Manar is now the sole provider for her family while at the same time grieving unimaginable loss. She should not have to do this alone. If you are unable to donate, please share.

Follow Manar on ig @manar.abbod

FAQs:

Do I know and trust Manar?

Yes. I have known Manar for nearly two years and we stay in communication via WhatsApp and social media. You can reach out to her, too, on insta. Manar is just 24 years old. She became a widow and suffered the horrific loss of two children at 23. She should have her whole life ahead of her to look forward to, and yet she no longer cares about her life. Just her daughter's. She is one of the strongest and most loving people I know. Despite having her husband, her children, her family, her home, much of her sight, and her human dignity taken from her, all she has is love and empathy for everyone. Her dream was to go to school, but instead married at a young age due to poverty. Her dream now is for her daughter Lama to go to school like the rest of the children in the world. When she and Lama are free, she wants to go to school to become a journalist, so that she can "defend the children, women, and elderly of Gaza."

Why and how am I fundraising on Manar's behalf?

GoFundMe is not supported in Palestine, so I (in the U.S.) manage the campaign and receive the donations into a bank account that I then transfer over to Manar via international wire.

How is Manar able to use the money?

Food and other supplies are occasionally available for purchase in limited amounts and at steep prices. It is often what has been collected from aid deliveries. Manar is able to make purchases through direct bank transfers to the seller.

When and how will Manar and Lama be evacuated?

It is unknown when the border will open in any capacity. Before crossings halted altogether, the only way to leave Gaza was be one of few approved to be transported for medical treatment in Egypt, or pay brokers (often an Egyptian travel agency called Hala) an exorbitant amount to be smuggled across the Rafah border. We are trying to raise enough money to be able to pay for Manar and Lama's evacuation immediately should the border become less restricted. Other than donating, it is imperative to continue applying pressure on world leaders to allow humanitarian assistance and end this genocide.