Supporting my Daughter in Reaching her Chess Goals

My name is Rasha, and I am starting this campaign to help my 16 year old daughter Eman, reach her chess goals. She is the number one player on the Palestinian chess team, the Arab champion under 14 and under 16, holder of the WFM Olympic title and currently ranked 1890 by the International Chess Federation. Eman has been through so much and I hope from my heart that you can help support her financially so that she can focus her efforts on achieving her dreams.

From a very young age Eman discovered her passion for playing chess, and she has not calmed down. She never fails to work diligently in developing herself and trying to achieve her dream of becoming one of the best female players in the world. This dream gives her all the strength to continue, despite the many obstacles she faces. Eman was born in Jordan, but her father is a Palestinian refugee, so she does not have any national number, only the temporary Jordanian passport.

As the child of a Palestinian refugee Eman faces many financial difficulties in achieving her potential. Everything in Jordan is not allowed for a refugee, like secondary education and government universities. Eman received a partial scholarship to a private school through chess, but she is still required to pay the rest of the fees and we cannot provide for all the school fees which dominate her thinking, as more than once she was denied a bus ride to school because we could not pay the bill. It breaks my heart.

As for chess, Eman is not allowed to play all chess tournaments in Jordan because she is Palestinian, so she must play tournaments abroad to play stronger players and increase her skill. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to travel to these tournaments outside of Jordan. Eman also needs a computer to study for school and practice chess and we cannot afford to buy one.

Finally, Eman is invited to play at the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest in September and to prepare and play her best she needs to train with a coach, which we also cannot afford. As a mother I want to do everything I can to help her, to support her and to remove all obstacles in front of her so she can achieve her chess dreams. She so works hard and diligently. She always tells me when I ask her to rest, “Mama, there is no time to play. I want to achieve my dream and change reality.” Thank you for supporting my daughter.

Here is a letter from Eman:

My name is Eman. I am the Palestinian chess champion and the Arab champion twice, under 14 and under 16, without any loss. I hold the WCM title and the WFM title twice, the last of which was the 2022 Chennai Olympics. I live in Jordan with my brother, my father, and my mother, who endured a lot for me. I do not have any nationality because my father is a refugee from Gaza. He does not have a national number, but only a temporary Jordanian passport, so I cannot have everything like others in terms of education and chess, and I suffer a lot due to this. My mother is always by my side, but the war has affected everything. We lost many of our family and friends in Gaza. Many times I almost lost my faith in myself and my dreams, but my passion for the game and my mother’s support is what drives me to continue. I want to represent my country well and show the world what Palestinian girls are capable of.

I will never give up. I love chess very much, and I hope that I have the conditions to continue. Thank you.