Help Lara's family escape war to safety& rebuild their lives

Andrea Smith is organizing this fundraiser.

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I am Andrea Smith from the United States of Jacksonville. I am running this campaign on behalf of my friend Lara and her family after she was forced to start a new campaign due to the previous founder of her campaign refusing to receive any other transfers to his account. I am now trying to help them survive this war and rebuild their lives. Please do everything you can.

Hello world, I am Lara Al Khawalda, I am 29 years old. My family consists of 11 wonderful person. My mother Saida 50. She raised us as orphans after my father’s death in 2003. My married brother Khaled 30 and his wife Maha 20 had their first daughter Azza 10 months during the war, and my brother Hisham is 24 He graduated from university two months before the war and was preparing to build his future and work after graduation. My younger brother, Akram 23, and my married sister Samar 25 and her husband Bassem25 , who had their first son Ibrahim 12 months, two months before the war.

I am writing to you after 10 months of suffering in Gaza, filled with rockets, shells and explosive barrels. Every night we live is like a Bollywood movie that I never imagined I would one day live in real life. Death is everywhere and life is narrow for us because after 8 months the war has exhausted us, as well as hunger and the lack and scarcity of food. We are considered lucky because we have access to food that keeps us alive, even if it is in small quantities. Before the war, I was working as an English teacher, and I was very happy with my life, my profession, and my happy family, where joy filled the house, but our lives were turned upside down, and the past was buried under the weight of the war. The rubble of houses, the present has become black, and the future has no features.

We tried to hold out for 10 months, but we could no longer continue because life had become impossible in Gaza, especially after the destruction of our house and we became homeless, living in a very simple tent that lacked the necessities of a decent life and was completely inconsistent with the human rights advocated by all international organizations. I took it upon myself to help my family and get them out of Gaza as quickly as possible because I want to restore their beautiful and happy image again before losing their lives. All members of my family live in difficult health conditions due to lack of nutrition. Their bodies have become emaciated and they have been exposed to severe health problems because of this, such as shortness of breath and anemia. And high blood pressure, as they are unable to obtain treatment due to its lack of availability, and they are unable to afford it.

However, the most difficult of these cases is the case of my mother, who is sick with hepatitis C.She needs access to healthy food, clean water, and treatment, which we do not have. Her health has deteriorated greatly and we cannot do anything, as the medical situation in the Gaza Strip is bad. She needs to travel as soon as possible to continue her treatment. Otherwise we will lose her.

A small part of our suffering is that my brothers are forced daily to travel long distances to obtain water, as tent life is very difficult after we were honored in our homes. We now do not have the most basic human rights, and the lives of women and children are very difficult. My sisters and I are forced to stand in line just to enter the bathroom in the open air, which is considered a very bad situation, while as women we need privacy.

My nephew Ibrahim and my niece Azza are innocent children who were born in brutal conditions, while they need to live a quiet life full of peace and security, but the occupation refuses that. Their parents and the whole family are trying to stick together and be strong for them. Two innocent children have suffered a lot as they were displaced with their parents from their homes after it was bombed to our house in an attempt to gain some safety and live under a roof that protects them from the brutality of missiles, but unfortunately they were displaced for the second time with us after the destruction of our home (their ancestors home) to a tent.

In addition to their parents’ suffering in providing basic needs of diapers, milk, and clothes due to their high prices, they as parents cannot bear their inability to provide everything their child needs and have become dependent on some types of foods to satisfy their children’s hunger, such as bread, lentil soup, and rice.

All members of my family lost their jobs and we became jobless, which made us unable to afford basic needs and food, forcing us to rely on aid and hospices that prepare food.

My mother is a widow, my older brother Khaled was a taxi driver, my brother-in-law Bassem had a small shop, I was an English teacher, my sister Haya was an accountant, and my brother Akram had a fast food restaurant but we all lost our jobs and our incomes.

We hope that everyone will help us get out of Gaza to save our lives before we lose our family, as getting out is very difficult due to the restrictions imposed on us. We need to pay $5,000 for each adult and $2,500 for children to a company located in Egypt, Cairo, called (Hala). After several days, we are allowed to leave.My family consists of 9 adults and 2 children, so I need to raise $50,000.So that all your funds wouldn't be used for any armed conflict efforts regardless of the country or funding weapons, protective gear, defensive equipment, goods and services for soldiers, territorial defense or security forces, it would be used just for saving ourlives and evacuate Gaza strip to safety.

Either you help us maintain our lives or leave us to certain death in Gaza.

I desperately need your support to spread my voice to reach my goal as soon as possible

I'll introduce you to my lovely family so please take a look on my pictures.

My older brother khaled during his wedding cermony.

my brother Akram.

my mom and my brother Hisham during his graduation cermony.

my sister samar and her husband Basem.

My sister Haya during her graduation cermony.

my family mom, Haya, Samar, Hisham and me.

me(lara) in New year.

our home when it was full of warm, love and peace.

me(lara) with my sister Haya.

me(lara) with my sweet students.

here in the New year cermony in our school.

and here they asked me to take photo after the class.

and here in a trip to the strawberry farm in north Gaza.

and here i won't forget this day for ever when Zayed (the blond boy) in the pic told me that he will leave the school and i took this pic to remeber him.