Hello everyone,

We never expected to find ourselves in this situation. With your support, my family and I can escape the horrors of war in Gaza and start a new in Egypt. Every donation, regardless of its size, brings us closer to safety and the opportunity to rebuild our shattered lives.

Before I continue with my story, I want to emphasize an important detail:

Due to our country not being supported by GoFundMe, the platform requires a beneficiary when creating an account from an unsupported country. My sister has developed a strong relationship with Sarah, and they remain in close contact. In fact, it was Sarah who assisted my sister in her evacuation, even helping cover the missing funds needed to complete her registration process. When I couldn't find a suitable beneficiary, my sister reached out to Sarah, who generously offered to act as the beneficiary for me and my family.

Here is my story:

My name is Rawaa Aldous, and I'm from Gaza. I'm an optometrist, and my husband is an accountant. I was just a few steps away from completing my master's degree in the health administration program, but everything was lost.

We lived in peace with our three children in our beautiful home. Despite the suffocating siege, the hardships of living, and salary reductions, our life was simple and beautiful. We worked day and night, studied, took care of our children, celebrated happy occasions with our families, and practiced our hobbies. My husband and I love drawing, and our children inherited this hobby from us.

I never imagined that one day our lives would turn into an unbearable hell, with no safe place to escape to. I have witnessed five wars and many aggressions by the Israeli occupation since I was born. This aggression, now in its 236th day, is the most horrific. Fifteen members of my family, including my parents, four brothers, two sisters-in-law, five nephews, and two nieces, were killed in an airstrike. I never expected to lose them all at once. I wish I could wake up and find that it was all a nightmare.

I don't know how to help my son, Wasim, who lost his cousin Awni, the Palestinian boy who found YouTube fame after his death. Wasim cannot believe that Awni is gone. They used to play together, make challenges, and play digital games. Wasim rejected the idea that he lost him; I see the sadness in his eyes as he writes letters to Awni, expressing how much he will never forget him and how grateful he is for the days they spent together.

We are living the most miserable life ever. My home, along with all my cherished memories and dreams, was destroyed. Now homeless, I struggle to find a safe place for my children. Losing my home and my family's home has shattered my heart and soul. Being unable to protect my family leaves me feeling disappointed. Every day, I witness my five-year-old son crying and screaming in his sleep, traumatized by the airstrikes. My husband and I suffer psychologically from constant displacement as we try to escape danger.

We were forced to flee from Gaza to the southern area of the Gaza Strip, but now that area has become dangerous too. All we hear are people screaming and the big explosions of airstrikes. We are dying of horror, hunger, and thirst. We worry about our loved ones, and we rarely find healthy food, water, or medicine. My children suffer from malnutrition, and we haven’t been able to find treatment for them due to difficulty in accessing it.

I don’t want my children to grow up in such a dangerous environment. I don’t want them to build memories of occupation, rockets, and bombs. They deserve to live in peace like other children. They are unable to receive any education and are traumatized by fear, especially after losing their grandparents and the rest of my family. Every night they cry and pray for peace, but nothing has changed. They are completely devastated, watching what is happening with terror that will affect them forever, and sadness for their peers who died under the rubble of their houses or got injured and couldn’t find medical care. I don’t want the same fate for my little children.

We are seeking nothing but peace and dreaming of a normal life. Please save their souls; Gaza is not a place to live anymore. Passing into Egypt could help them start a new life. The money will help us to pass into Egypt and purchase necessities such as clothing and food because we lost everything under the rubble of my house.

Evacuation is very expensive, and that’s why I made this GoFundMe campaign to raise $60,000 to facilitate my family's evacuation to Egypt. You are our only hope to save my family.

Here’s a breakdown of the funds:

The only way out of Gaza right now is through the Rafah Border, which requires a fee of $10,000 for adults and $4,000 to $5,000, depending on age, for children. There are 2 adults and 3 children in my family. Therefore, we need about $35,000 to enable all of my family members to flee from the war in Gaza. The rest of the money will be used to help my family settle in Egypt for the next 6 months. It will cover our basic needs for accommodation, rent, food, medical access, and other essentials during this period.

Dear friends, you are our only hope to help save my beloved family and get them to Egypt. Any donation, no matter the size, will make a difference and is deeply appreciated.

Your support, whether big or small, will significantly ensure the safety of our loved ones. Please feel free to share this with anyone who can help us.

For further information about me, visit my Instagram profile.

https://www.instagram.com/rourydays?igsh=Mzg2ZnZoeHFjNWU=

We had beautiful times before October 7. This is Awni on my son's birthday.

My beautiful daughter before the war.

Our home was destroyed by Israel.