Shattered Dreams, Unshakeable Hope: Help Razan&Haya

"We are here to tell our story... We had a life in Gaza.

I am Dr. Ibrahim Fouzi Al-Aqqad, head of the ENT department at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, and these are my daughters, Razan and Haya.

I am Razan, 22 years old, from Gaza Strip , specifically Khan Younis. I study computer engineering, or more precisely, I was studying computer engineering at the Islamic University of Gaza. Actually, the moment of graduation and the ceremony was the biggest dream I had in my life since I was little. I reached my final year - I was close to achieving my dream. My friends Du’a, Bisan, Taqwa, Aseel, and I formed a graduation group and started preparing for our research topic. We were extremely excited and nervous as we were now closer to the moment we had been working towards for five years. We faced difficulty convincing the administration to allow us to form a group of five students as we had been friends since school and did not want to part ways. On the night of Thursday, October 5th, the university agreed to it, and the head of the department, Dr. Engineer, scheduled a meeting to start the project on Saturday, October 7th, 2023. This day was the first step towards achieving our dream. Unfortunately, we did not know it would be the end of our dream and the day everything we worked for over four years would be destroyed.

I am Haya, 19 years old, and I love studying beyond description. I competed with myself in high school to get the highest score I could achieve, and thanks to God, I scored 97%. I felt an indescribable joy as I was the reason for my family's happiness and would be able to achieve my dream of studying dentistry and working alongside my uncle Mahmoud in his clinic. I finished paying the fees and registered at Al-Azhar University, starting the first step towards my dream on September 20th. I visited the college’s private clinics and departments that were part of my dreams. After 15 days of starting my university life, I woke up to the most horrific reality I wished was a nightmare... My university disappeared from the face of the earth, completely destroyed, and my uncle, whom I dreamed of becoming his colleague, was martyred. I became alone with my dreams that seemed almost impossible.

Thanks to God and the help of family and friends, and by spending what was left of our money, we managed to leave Gaza after a long struggle. We lost our home, our clinic, and the hospital where I, Dr. Ibrahim, worked, which is now out of service. We became homeless in Egypt without shelter or source of income. We tried repeatedly to find work, but all doors were closed as we do not have residency and are not entitled to work.

I worked for more than thirty years to provide my children with all the means of life. My eldest daughter, Sarah, is a doctor, my youngest daughter, Farah, is an architectural engineer, and my daughters, Haya and Razan, were on their way to achieving their dreams. My daughters never imagined that I would have to undertake such campaigns to support their education. I was the superhero father who never stopped pushing them towards their dreams in every possible way.

We are now Dr. Ibrahim, Razan, and Haya, appealing to those who love Gaza and feel our plight. We appeal to people with a conscience to help us continue Haya and Razan’s education in computer engineering and dentistry and to provide shelter for our family of 12 members.

Help us by donating or sharing the link. Every amount, even very small, can make a difference in our future.

Thank you, and we love you because you showed interest and listened to our story."