Hello!

A message from Emily:

I first got to know Abdulhai in October 2024, almost two years ago. At the time, I was looking at how best to support Palestinians seeking to live their lives amid the daily onslaught.

Since then we have talked regularly and I have watched his life change through circumstances that no young person should have to endure.

I have also come to know Abdulhai beyond the challenging circumstances around him. He is a young man with ambition, humour, kindness and a real determination and desire to build something meaningful with his life. He loves photography and sport, hopes to continue with his education and still dreams of becoming an engineer.

I started this fundraiser over a year ago because I wanted to help him and his family survive, and he has also helped his local community too. However, Abdulhai also deserves the chance at a future and you'll see in his words below what his hopes are.

Thank you so much to every person who has donated, shared his story, and supported him in anyway. Your kindness has already made a lasting difference. In a world filled with so much sadness, we can still choose to care for one another.

Please read Abdulhai's words below.

With thanks, Emily x

I am based in London, England. If you would like to ask me about this fundraiser you can reach my via my instagram: emilychalke

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Words from Abdulhai:

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life simply surviving.

My name is Abdulhai. I am 21 years old, and I am from Gaza.

For a long time, my life has been measured by things that most people should never have to think about: whether food will be available, how much it will cost tomorrow, whether the place around me will remain safe, and what else the war might take away.

But before all of this, I had dreams.

And somehow, I still do.

I want to study. I want to improve my English. I want to become an engineer. I love photography and sport. I want to work, travel, meet people, build a career and eventually create a home and a life of my own.

I want ordinary things.

That may sound simple, but after everything that has happened, an ordinary life has become one of my biggest dreams.

You helped me survive. Now I am trying to build what comes after survival.

The people who have supported this campaign have already carried me through some incredibly difficult periods.

Every donation has represented more than money to me. It has meant food, basic necessities, and the knowledge that somewhere outside Gaza, somebody knew my name and cared whether I made it through another day.

I will never forget that.

But my goal now is bigger than getting through tomorrow.

I want to reach a point where I no longer have to ask how I will survive the next day.

I want the chance to rebuild my life.

What your donations will help me do

Food and everyday necessities

Food remains one of my immediate expenses.

Donations help me buy whatever food is available, drinking water and other basic daily necessities.

Travel, relocation and starting again

One of my biggest goals is to have the resources necessary to leave Gaza safely when a viable opportunity becomes available and begin rebuilding my life outside.

Leaving is not simply the cost of one journey.

I need to prepare for transportation, documentation and travel-related expenses, as well as accommodation, food, local transportation and basic living costs during the first period after relocation.

Starting again after losing so much means starting almost from zero.

I want to be financially prepared when an opportunity to move toward safety and a future finally comes.

Education and English

Education is one of the most important parts of the future I am trying to protect.

I want to continue improving my English and eventually continue my studies so that the war does not decide what I am allowed to become.

My dream of becoming an engineer did not disappear when the war began.

Your support can help me pay for English-language learning, educational materials, applications and other study-related expenses as I work toward returning to formal education.

Rebuilding what war has taken from my life

Part of these funds will help me replace essential belongings and gradually rebuild the things I need to live independently and with dignity.

I am not expecting to replace everything at once.

I simply want the chance to begin again.

Training and rebuilding my strength

Training has become one of the few pieces of normal life that I have been able to hold onto.

The gym gives me structure, discipline and a goal to work toward when so much around me is outside my control.

A smaller portion of the support I receive may therefore help cover training costs and the nutrition and basic expenses that allow me to continue exercising.

For me, rebuilding my life also means rebuilding myself.

How the money reaches me

This fundraiser is organised by Emily in England, who has known me since October 2024.

Because I am in Gaza, Emily helps receive the funds raised through GoFundMe and transfer the money to me through the financial channels available to us.

We want this campaign to remain as transparent as possible, especially as my circumstances and the costs around me continue to change.

Where your donation goes

Because food prices, travel possibilities and relocation costs can change dramatically, I do not want to give people a false fixed budget.

Instead, funds are prioritised according to what is most urgent:

First: food, basic necessities and immediate living costs.

Second: building a dedicated reserve for travel, relocation and the first period of life outside Gaza.

Third: education, English learning and the practical costs of rebuilding an independent life.

Fourth: smaller quality-of-life expenses, including maintaining my training and replacing things that have been lost or destroyed.

If circumstances change, I will continue updating this campaign so supporters understand what I am working toward.

If you’re reading this, you are already part of my story.

327 people have donated to this campaign.

That number is difficult for me to comprehend.

It means hundreds of people, many of whom have never met me, decided that my life and my future were worth helping.

I wish I could personally sit with every one of you and explain what that has meant to me.

And if this is the first time you are finding my story, I hope you will become part of what happens next.

A small donation can help me eat today.

A larger donation can become part of the money that eventually helps me travel, study and establish myself somewhere safe.

And a share costs nothing, but it can put my story in front of the person who changes everything.

I am still here. And I still have plans for my life.

I don’t want my story to end with everything the war destroyed.

I want there to be another chapter.

One where I study again.

One where I become an engineer.

One where I can take photographs because something is beautiful, not because I need to document what has been destroyed.

One where training is simply part of my day.

One where I can work and support myself.

One where survival is no longer my full-time job.

If you donate, you are helping me reach that chapter.

If you cannot donate, please share this fundraiser with someone who might.

You are not only helping me survive what is happening now.

You are helping me build the life I am fighting to reach.

Thank you for remembering me.

Abdulhai