Help Nareman's family escape Gaza and reunite in Cairo

Kali Handelman is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

My name is Kali Handelman, I live in New York, and I am fundraising to help the family of a talented designer and embroiderer, Nareman Abu Obeid. She was born and raised in Gaza and has been displaced to Cairo by the war. A close friend of mine spent a few days with Nareman in Cairo and connected me with her, giving me a chance to speak with her by phone. She is a kidney patient and the only member of her family to reach Cairo so far. Please help eight members of her family to cross the Egyptian border and join her there.

Here is a message from Nareman, in her own words:

Greetings. My name is Nareman, a computer engineer from Gaza. Before the war, I worked passionately in the field of fashion design and tatreez, the Palestinian art of embroidery. I finally opened a store just two weeks before the war, but it has now been destroyed. We worked very hard to revive Palestinian cultural heritage and share it globally. Here is a video profile of our workshop Falastiniyat and here are some photos of our work, so you can see it with your own eyes.

But my life changed drastically when I was diagnosed with an immune disorder in my kidneys in the beginning of October. If I do not receive the necessary treatment, I will be in danger of kidney failure. I have seen my mother suffer from dialysis and I do not want to go through that.

Now, I am in Egypt alone, separated from my husband and family, because they were unable to leave Gaza. Each person requires $5,000 to leave Gaza. My family includes my mother (48 years old), my father (52), my brothers Mahmoud (19) and Muhammad (16), my sister Hiba (23) who is seven months pregnant (God, may I see her before she gives birth!), her daughter (2), my husband (42) and father-in-law (64), who has a heart condition.

I want to evacuate my family from Gaza, especially my mother, whose health is deteriorating significantly. Last week, she suffered from a stroke and lost her memory. By the grace of God, her memory has returned and her condition has improved to some extent.

I hope I am able to get enough funds together to find a kidney transplant for her. (We wanted to donate one of our kidneys to her, but we all have the kind of kidney ailments that prevent donation.) My mother is young; she is only 48 years old. We do not want to lose her.

I am asking you to share my story by making a video and speaking about my situation, accompanied by this link to my fundraiser. Your support could make all the difference in my and my family’s lives.

مرحباً، أنا ناريمان، مهندسة حاسوب من غزة. قبل الحرب، كنت أعمل بشغف واجتهاد في مجال تصميم الفساتين والتطريز اليدوي الفلسطيني. وقمت بفتح محل قبل الحرب بأسبوعين فقط ولكنه تدمر من الحرب , كنا نعمل بجد لإحياء التراث الفلسطيني ونشره للعالم. سأضع لكم بعض الصور لتشاهدوا جمال هذا العمل بأعينكم.

لكن، حياتي تغيرت بشكل كبير عندما تم تشخيصي بمرض مناعي في الكلى بداية شهر أكتوبر ، وإذا لم أتلق العلاج اللازم، سأواجه خطر الفشل الكلوي. أرى معاناة أمي وهي تقوم بغسيل الكلى، ولا أريد أن أعاني نفس الألم .

انا الان في مصر اعاني الألم وحدي بدون زوجي او عائلتي لانهم لم يستطيعوا الخروج من غزة

يحتاج كل شخص دفع 5 الاف دولار للخروج من غزة .

عائلتي تشتمل على امي 48 سنة، أبي 52 سنة، أخي محمود 19 سنة، وأخي محمد 16 سنة، وأختي هبة 23 سنة وهي حامل ولادتها بشهر 10 يارب نقدر نطلعها قبل ولادتها. وبنت أختي عمرها سنتين وزوجي 42 سنة وابو زوجي 64 سنة وهو مريض قلب.

اريد اجلاء اهلي وخصوصا امي واخوتي من غزة لان امي وضعها الصحي متدهور جدا وأصيبت بالجلطة الأسبوع الماضي وفقدت الذاكرة وبلطف من ربنا رجعت لها الذاكرة وأصبحت بخير الى حد ما

أتمنى لو استطيع ان اجمع لها المال وازرع لها الكلية (حاولنا ان نتبرع لها ولكن جميعا لدينا امراض وتمنعنا من التبرع لها )

امي صغيرة في العمر 48 ولا نريد ان نفقدها .

أطلب مساعدتكم لنشر قصتي من خلال فيديو تتحدثون فيه عن حالتي وترافقونه برابط التبرع الخاص بي. دعمكم يمكن أن يحدث فرقاً كبيراً في حياتي وحياة عائلتي

A video profile of Nareman and her studio, Falastiniyat

Nareman with her niece and other children in her family.

Nareman’s store, which opened just two weeks before the beginning of the war. It has now been destroyed.

Plestia Alaqad wearing a tatreez dress made by Nareman and her colleagues.

From the left, Nareman’s brother-in-law, her mother wearing a tatreez robe, her father, Nareman in her graduation gown, her sister Hiba and her brother Mahmoud.