Hello, my name is Daria and I am raising funds for my friend Mohanad in Gaza. When we first began speaking a year or so ago, he had reached out to me through LinkedIn, and I decided that I wanted to try to help him. As I have gotten to know Mohanad, I have learned that he is truly one of the most humble, generous, and kind people I have ever had the privilege to speak to.

Luckily, I have been able to transfer money to him through the bank on multiple occasions. Sadly, him and his family continue to struggle to survive after the destruction that has been brought onto their home. Here are his words:

I, Mohanad Hisham, where I live in Gaza among loved ones and memories, was born into a beautiful and happy life. We would wake up and our day would pass beautifully, with nothing to worry us. We lived in safety, we had money and were in want of nothing. A beautiful life in the truest sense of the word, I lived happily with my family and my wife.

Then came the seventh of October and everything changed. The war began, and with it things we had never seen in our lives: displacement, death, fear, anxiety, a life so difficult it was insane.

The war has taken everything from us: our home, our money, our dignity, our life, our memories, and our loved ones. We are now living in a state of limbo, not knowing what will happen next. We are afforded no dignity. Our circumstances have changed tragically; there is no food, no clean water, no proper shelter, life in a tent.

We now only wake to search for food, water, and shelter, and stand in line for the chance at what little is available as we suffer in this life.

Now, they claim there is a ceasefire; but this is not true. Our life continues to be full of major crises.

Through it all, we have survived solely through donations. If we don't receive donations, we are unable to buy what we need or pay off our debts. We urge those with kind hearts to donate.

I want to live with dignity again. I want to provide the following for my family:

Our biggest goal has become to escape to Egypt and attempt to live in dignity, but we would need a lot of funds to do so, and the crossing is closed. However, we want to be prepared to escape whenever the crossing opens, and the only way to do so is through receiving donations. O people of merciful hearts, please do not leave us and please donate to us.

Thank you.