Urgent appeal for Elham and her family in Gaza

Elham AbuOmar is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Islam Shaheen.

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Hello, my name is Elham.

I am 22 years old and recently graduated with a degree in Nutrition. This achievement was the result of years of hard work and dedication, as I supported myself through university by working as a makeup artist from home and at my mother’s workplace. I am the only in my family to complete a university education, despite our challenging financial situation. My dream was to start my career as a nutritionist and support my family financially. However, these dreams were shattered by the brutal war that has engulfed our lives.

Here are some photos from my graduation with my family.

Our family of seven has faced unimaginable hardships since October 7th. Before the war, my mother and I ran a beauty salon, and my brothers worked in construction. This provided us with a modest but sufficient income. Now, our beauty salon has become a shelter for displaced relatives, and my brothers have lost all job opportunities. We were forced to flee our home after a call from the occupying forces, leaving us uncertain and fearful of where to go. The intense bombing around our home broke windows and filled the air with smoke and bullets.

When the situation worsened, we moved to my relatives' house in Deir al-Balah, even though it was overcrowded. As the bombing subsided, we returned to our heavily damaged home, which is no longer safe to live in, yet we have no other place to go. Our lives have drastically changed: we cook on firewood instead of gas, rely on unhealthy canned food, and have lost access to clean drinking water. We endure the sweltering summer without electricity and the horrendous conditions caused by the spread of corpses and unbearable smells.

My father, Ali Abu Omar, is 61 years old. Before the war, he earned a small income by creating models and drawings for schools. This income ceased when the war began, and my father was injured in his leg and lungs by an explosion on our street, which killed three family members. His mobility is now limited, and he needs medical care that is unavailable in Gaza. He has suffered from a leg injury for nearly 30 years due to a previous that was treated incorrectly, resulting in his left leg being shorter than his right. He now requires urgent surgery outside Gaza to correct this issue.

Here are some photos of my father’s work before the war and his injuries from the April 16th massacre in the Al-Maghazi camp, along with hospital reports.

My mother, Nahla Abdul Wahab, is 59 years old and has been the primary breadwinner due to my father’s earlier accident. Despite her own health issues, including a broken hip in 2015 and another serious injury in 2022, she worked tirelessly as a hairdresser to support us. The war has forced her to stop working, further straining our already dire situation.

In 2015, my mother suffered a severe hip fracture that required her to travel to the West Bank for surgery, where she had a prosthetic hip joint implanted. She remained there for a month, despite being the main provider for our family. In 2022, she had another accident affecting her other hip, forcing her to stay bedridden for several months due to osteoporosis and her fragile condition.

Here are some photos and reports of my mother’s injuries and my father’s drawing of her with my late brother Adam, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 20.

Before the war, my brothers worked various jobs to support our family. Amjad, 32, and Sami, 29, worked in construction, earning small wages due to the lack of job opportunities in Gaza. My younger brother Ibrahim, 26, worked at a small shop with minimal pay, and my youngest brother Mohammed, 18, had to stop his high school education because of the war.

Here are some photos of Amjad before and during the war