
Rescue Abeer and Her Mom from War in Gaza
Donation protected
Update on May 7: Abeer and her mother are now safely in Egypt! Your generosity helped to save their lives. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
The reality of starting a new life from scratch in Egypt are starting to become clearer as Abeer and her mother seek medical care and mental health support. She has asked me to update the goal to $30,000 to accommodate the increased costs of living and medical care. Thank you so much for your past gifts and continued support.
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Many of you know Abeer Younis: her brilliant smile, her sharp mind, her profound sense of justice, her ability to connect -- heart to heart -- with people coming from very different places. For those of you who do not know her personally, think of a friend, a programmer, an entrepreneur, a daughter, a leader, a data scientist, a citizen diplomat: who you are thinking of is Abeer.
Abeer and I met through a U.S. State Department-funded exchange program called TechWomen, which identifies leading women in STEM and connects them with mentors, top tech companies, and other leaders in Silicon Valley. Participants in the program are in the top 4% of applicants and rigorously vetted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before being offered visas to the U.S. TechWomen doesn't say it explicitly, but the point of programs like this is to find future leaders of countries all over the world and help them make American friends early in their careers, to further mutual understanding and peace on all sides. When people ask me "Where are the Palestinian leaders?" I think of these incredible women.
I think of Abeer.
But to lead in the future, Abeer must survive the horrors of today.
Right now, Abeer and her mother Omama Ibrahim are sitting in the dark of their destroyed home, having fled random artillery fire and air strikes to Rafah, and then forced to flee Rafah again in the face of Israel's threatened invasion. The building is cracked and shattered from air strikes; the artillery fire smashed through the wall, feet from where she sat with her Mother in the dark.
We text on WhatsApp when the communication isn't cut-off; she lost her laptop fleeing to Rafah and is borrowing a neighbor's Israeli SIM card to send the photos and the words you see below. This is no way to live and I am afraid every day she and my other Palestinian friends will die before I see them again and can introduce them to my son.
Abeer needs to get out. She has found a friend in Egypt who will take the transfer of any money we raise here today to give to her as soon as she crosses; I will post a photo of that happening for transparency. She is smart, hardworking, kind, and connected. But that isn't enough to get out of Gaza today: she needs enough money to pay the Egyptian military's extortionate border crossing fees, to rent an apartment, and to get medical care for herself and her mother to begin to heal from what they have suffered.
She has lost so much: peace, a dream job, security, and more family-members and friends than she can say. But she has not lost her life or her mother, and we can help keep that true. We can help Abeer build her life back, get to the safety she and all people deserve, and resume leading and growing in her community.
Our goal is $17,400 with a stretch goal of $30,000 to cover desperately needed surgery for her mother. Here is what Abeer said about the fundraising goal:
- "$17,400 USD is required to pay exit fees and cover rent, food, and transportation in Egypt for six months. I chose this duration after consulting my Palestinian friends in Cairo to determine the time needed to find a new job."
- "$30,000 USD is required to cover exit fees, establish a new life, undergo urgent surgery for my mother’s left eye, consult with a Heart and Blood Pressure specialist as she hasn’t had access to her medication in Gaza for three months. Additionally, both of us need to see a psychotherapist after the challenging situation we went through. I also need to purchase a new laptop, as I lost mine during my escape to Rafah, and cover the costs of my data analytics and English courses."
- Update on May 10, based on current need: “If there is any money remaining, it will be sent to the wife of the CTO of my startup, Anas. After his wife, Sondos, lost him in this genocide, she stays alone with their two little kids, Anwar and Ameer.” —> [Former text: "If there is any money remaining, it will be sent to other TechWomen program members who are fundraising to leave Gaza. In the absence of such needs, I would like to contribute to any TechWomen fellows aiming to support women on the ground through aid initiatives."]
This is who Abeer is. In the dark and the terror, she is thinking of what she would do if she had the money to help others, to build a brighter world.
Below are photos and more of Abeer's story in her own words, but first, please consider donating $100 USD. If 174 of us donate $100 USD, Abeer and her mother will have what they need to get out. If 35 of us donate $500, they can get to Egypt safely, with money left over to give to other TechWomen seeking shelter from the war. Any amount helps, as does sharing this fundraiser on social media.
Abeer in her own words:
My dream has always been to work in the tech field. After a long journey in the tech field, in 2023, I decided to become a data scientist. Before the aggression on Gaza started, I was close to securing a permanent job working online from Gaza for a multinational company. Now, since Gaza is disconnected from the world, I have lost all my opportunities and have zero chance of getting my dream job or any job to support myself and my mother financially. With your help, I will be able to move to Egypt and get new opportunity to work on my career and hopefully support myself and my mother until this aggression ends. I also aim to become a mentor for other Gazan girls who want to take the same path.
It breaks my heart to see my mother unable to get her heart and blood pressure medication because it is not available in Gaza. She has been without her medication for the last three months and needs to undergo urgent surgery for her left eye. Day by day, her health is deteriorating, and I am really scared to lose the last family member, my mother.
The building I live in has been bombed twice. Firstly, by Israeli artillery fires randomly targeting the edge of the room balcony where my mother and I were sitting; it was literally one meter away from us. The second time was an Israeli airstrike on the next-door building, causing massive destruction to our home. After these incidents, we went to Rafah and stayed there for a month and a half, but were forced to return to the remains of our destroyed home in Nussirat Camp when the Israeli army threatened to invade Rafah. We are literally living under the rubble, counting the bombs and waiting for our turn.
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Palestinians need women like Abeer to survive, to help rebuild Gaza. The world needs her. Her mother needs her. And her friends need her. She is loved and respected and by working together, we can help save her life.
Please consider giving.
Thank you very much.
Jessica Dickinson Goodman
Volunteer TechWomen Impact Coach
San Jose, California, USA
Organizer

Jessica Dickinson Goodman
Organizer
San Jose, CA