Rebuild Hope for a Family from Gaza

My name is Lubabah Chowdhury and I am an educator in Virginia. I have had the good fortune to work closely with students from all over the world. One of these students, Karim Abualnaja, is from Gaza and is raising funds to help his family rebuild in Egypt after they fled the war. Karim is smart, hard working and one of the kindest people I know. Please read his story and donate if you are able:

My name is Karim Abualnaja, and I’m a sophomore at Washington and Lee University, studying biochemistry.

After I received my scholarship in the fall of 2023 and left my home in Gaza, I knew my life would change, but I never imagined the drastic changes my family would face soon after.

I am the eldest son in a hardworking, kind and amazing family. My mom is a talented makeup artist, who owned a beauty salon which was one of the top salons in the area and was located in the center of Al Remal. My dad worked in the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy.

My sister Basma, who's 17 years old, was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship to study business administration at Rutgers University. She just arrived in the U.S. in August 2024.

My youngest brother, Azooz, who's 10 years old, just started the 5th grade. He's also a soccer player. Playing soccer with his friends was his favorite pastime in Gaza.

Despite the challenges of life in Gaza, my parents were dedicated to providing us with a quality life, focusing on our education and investing all they had in our home and in growing my mom’s business.

However, last October, everything was gone! My mom's salon got totally destroyed after several bombs and missiles (photo above). Our home in Tal Al Hawa was bombed, like many family homes in Gaza, leaving it uninhabitable.

In a nutshell, my family lost everything.

After being displaced three times, my family made the difficult decision to flee to Egypt at the end of December 2023.

I can't be more thankful and grateful that they survived after all the horrific and traumatizing experiences they lived and witnessed.

While they are now safe, they are struggling to start over, with their savings nearly exhausted, living in a survival mode, making it so difficult to start all over again.

I have created this page on behalf of my family to help them find a new path in life and start all over again.

My mom is trying so hard to continue working on her dream of achieving recognition and making a livelihood in an industry where she’s already made a name for herself: the beauty industry.

She is a certified makeup artist from Makeup Forever and has trained with famous makeup artists in Jordan, UAE and Egypt.

She also used to teach beauty and make-up in one of the vocational universities in Gaza, empowering young women to start their own small businesses in the beauty industry.

She is aiming to start a new venture in the industry, a new makeup studio in Cairo, selling her own beauty products through a shop and online through a website.

We are seeking 40,000 USD to cover the set-up of the company and the business license, studio, website and the products.

I believe that by supporting my mom, you’re not only helping my family regain stability and security, but also supporting all those who will work with her in the future. Your help, whether through donations or sharing this link, would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you and God bless you.