Help Family With Two Small Children Escape Gaza

Hi, my name is Julia (from Arizona, US) and I am fundraising on behalf of my humanitarian colleague and friend, Mirna Ayad and her family. The Ayads are a family of Palestinian Christians from Northern Gaza who have lost everything to the war -- friends and loved ones, their home, access to food and water, even their pet turtle. As a result, they have made the difficult decision to leave their home country to seek safety and a future for their children. We are asking for your help to get them safely out of Gaza.

The Ayad's Story, as told my Mirna:

"We are the Ayad family, a simple Palestinian Christian family consisting of four members: Rami, Mirna, and our two children Mira, aged ten, and Ameer, aged seven.

Before October 7th, 2023, we lived in a safe, warm, and comfortable home. Our children used to go to school and the club to pursue their hobbies. Mira loved to play basketball and Ameer loved riding his bicycle. My wife and I both work at an international humanitarian organization and we used to go to work daily, feeling comfortable and secure. However, since the beginning of the war, our normal life routine has changed, it has become challenging for us just to stay alive.

On the third day of the war, we received a call to evacuate the house we lived in. Our house was renovated less than a year ago; we felt immense joy when we renovated this house. There was a cozy room for our children, which they had chosen, with beautiful, childlike colors on the walls. There was also the couch where we used to enjoy our coffee and the living room where we gathered and spent happy family moments.

The threat of eviction lasted no more than ten minutes before the area we lived in was fully targeted, turning it into a completely uninhabitable zone. The children's room was destroyed by multiple shells, and their toys were buried under the rubble, their clothes torn by bullets, and their schoolbooks buried. All the windows and walls were destroyed, rendering the house uninhabitable. What wasn’t destroyed in the shelling was looted. What remained of the kitchen utensils, clothes, and bedding was stolen entirely. When we managed to visit the house for the first time, our children asked us to bring their toys and clothes. They were shocked when we told them that they were under the rubble and that whatever survived the shells had been stolen.

We are currently enduring extremely difficult days, suffering from a severe shortage of even the most basic food supplies, which, if ever available, are sold at exorbitant prices. We are deprived of basic necessities like food, water, medicine, and electricity. Like the basketball court and their bicycles, our children’s dreams and childhood are now lost under the rubble.

Additionally, we are grappling with intense psychological fatigue and constant fear. We have been living in our church for over 5 months, alongside members of our small community of 900 Christians people throughout the Strip. We have lost many of our relatives and friends to this war. The church itself was shelled and we lost close friends we were sheltering alongside. Our children have witnessed death firsthand for the first time, along with numerous injuries and suffering endured by many here. All of this is compounded by the profound fear and horror of the terrifying shells.

Today, we stand facing an uncertain future, awaiting its resolution. We are confronted with the choice of either staying and rebuilding our small, warm home - a dream for us and our children - or leaving our beloved country.

We have made the difficult decision to leave Gaza and go somewhere else.

We never expected before this day and living this horrific experience that we would seek help and support. However, the circumstances we are living through and the experiences we are enduring have compelled us to seek assistance. We thank all of you for providing support, whether it's material or moral. Your presence gives us hope that one day we will have a safe place for our small family again.

With gratitude,

Rami, Mirna, Mira and Ameer"

How your donation will provide support to the Ayad Family:

Mirna and Rami are seeking your support to get their family out of Gaza and to safety. Your generous donation will cover the following expenses (approximated based on current costs). To comply with GoFundMe rules, all donated funds will be transferred to Julia and subsequently bank transferred to the Ayad family.

Total: $33,000

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