![Main fundraiser photo](https://images.gofundme.com/kN3oIgRvCp2SoN-sUFOR4usMs58=/720x405/https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/80904501_1718968814945282_r.jpeg)
Evacuate Kotkot Family from Gaza to Escape the Genocide
Donation protected
My name is Emily and I am Fundraising on behalf of the Kotkot family that is currently trapped in Gaza.
I will personally send this funds to the Kotkot family. Funds will be used to escape Gaza ($5000/person) and get settled in Egypt. The family is currently located in Deir al-Balah Sea Shore. Funds will also be used for basic living expenses such as food and medical needs in the mean time.
The names of the adults that will be evacuated to egypt are:
Amjad Kotkot
Jihad Kotkot
Asmahan Kotkot
Eman Kotkot
Asaad Kotkot
Along with 2 children
They will use the Egyptian company, "Hala," to evacuate.
I will let Amjad share the families story:
"To start, I want to thank the free people who have stood in solidarity with Gaza.
I hope you never experience the feeling of shame that comes with begging, but I'm currently forced to do that in order to save my beautiful family seen in the picture ( Jihad, Asmahan, Asaad, Hassan, and sisters Eman and Joud). I'm writing these words from inside our 20-meters tent. We were displaced from our beautiful home in Rafah when the occupying operation began. All 7 of us are currently squeezed in this tiny space that cannot protect us from the heat, cold, or rain. This is still an improvement from the early days of war where we had nothing but the ground near Deir al-Balah sea.
As we fled without preparation or access to our money, we've been greatly restricted in affording transport, food, or even a proper tent. We're just abandoned and thrown from one place to another waiting for the unknown.
We've gone from eating amazing food to skipping entire days while we wait for aid. Even when we manage to find some, it's always canned food that's about to expire (if not already). A few days ago, I managed to have a banana! I took a picture with it and left its peel next to my pillow. The last time I've had clean cold water was 8 months ago and I've forgotten what it was like to have shower without rationing with buckets and no privacy.
Just two days before we left our home, I managed to eat a single banana. I slept next to it and took a picture of it as a keepsake. It might be the last!
We lost my grandmother, my uncle and his wife, cousin, and a number of relatives. I've lost 15 members so far and I'm terrified who will be next.
We matter and I want people to know us, so let me introduce them to you:
My father Jihad is 52 and has 5 children (which, as you can see, I'm the most handsome of them all). He's been unemployed since the war started and is struggling with several chronic illnesses including diabetes and high blood pressure with no medications to manage them. He's also been feeling helpless as he's been unable to be the provider and protector we've known him to be.
My mother Asmahan is 45. She has a heart of gold and spends most of the day praying to keep us safe. She keeps saying that she wouldn't make it if anything happens to us, but I hope she's wrong.
Eman is 24 and she was just about to graduate with her English degree before the war. She's the ambitious one and had dreams of being financially independent and working as an English teacher. It hurts to see how her biggest dreams are reduced now to finding gas to cook.
Asaad is 20. He was majoring in computer engineering and was an aspiring developer and the person who's always in a good mood. Now, he helps me fetch drinking water and talks very little.
Hassan and Joud are 16 and 8. They are the most beautiful children in our eyes. They loved school and still struggle to understand why they can't go anymore. Their innocence is something we're all fighting for but sometimes it's impossible to shield them from our horrifying reality.
Finally, I'm Amjad, 22 and was a fourth-year medical student. I doubt I'll ever be able to continue my education with my university being destroyed. It breaks my heart to see my ambitious and motivated siblings all lose hope of everything they dreamed about, and Like all of us, my goal now is to survive with my family by leaving until the war ends.
In addition to my insistence on completing my studies abroad to return to my homeland, Gaza, and help my people.
Your donation, whether small or large, can and will save our lives!
For those who are interested in my medical education, I will write here in some detail:
Buying a stethoscope, choosing the color of the scrub (operating room uniform), deciding which internal medicine book I will use in my studies, developing a plan for my first clinical year, and more.
![](https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/80904501_1719263318937768_r.jpeg)
These were most of my worries before October 7th!
I'm Amjad, a 4th-year medical student or supposed to be a 4th-year medical student I spent only one month in the clinical stage before October 7th. During my theoretical years in faculty of medicine, I was impatiently waiting for only one thing, which was the start of the clinical years, to taste the sweetness of medicine that everyone had always told me about, and to live the experience of serving patients among my people and dedicating my entire life to ensuring their treatment.
Indeed, in the month of September, that is, just one month before the events of October 7, I began the clinical stage, and I began studying and going to hospitals, and indeed I felt the very sweet taste of medicine that everyone told me about. I was in love with medicine at that time, I loved it completely, but because Beautiful dreams are not always complete. Unfortunately, the dream stopped and everything stopped with it. I wish my dream (I mean being a doctor and serving patients in hospitals) had lasted more than just one month..
Now, instead of studying some diseases and how to diagnose and treat them, today I am filling my time with finding a way to provide drinking water and a loaf of bread for my family members.
It is worth noting that the only thing that stands between me and my dream to become a VASCULAR SURGEON to help my people in times of crisis is to TRAVEL, because indeed there are universities in Egypt and Jordan ready to receive me.
I will attach my transcript and a certificate of proof that I am a medical student at the fourth level.
![](https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/80904501_1719263361721374_r.jpeg)
![](https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/80904501_1719263376241116_r.jpeg)
Thank you, much love.
Amjad"
Fundraising team (3)
Emily Gittings
Organizer
Richmond, VA
bc pellegrini
Team member
![](https://images.gofundme.com/6aOpnACRUqnAWuNojItthQ4VSxg=/128x128/https://www.gofundme.com/person/profiles/2ab1dd9bbab24d8abd7c552788970c43_edited_photo_1722325718248.jpeg)
colleen mcmahon
Team member