Rebuilding 21-Year-Old Seraj's Life & Dreams

Meet Seraj!

Written by Sky Cubacub from Chicago:

I have been connected to Seraj Aburaida since January 18, 2024. When we were first connected, Seraj was staying in the camps in Khan Younis but everything there was destroyed. He has lost everything, again, except for the clothes off his back and his phone, and was displaced for the 3rd time to Rafah, and now for a 4th time back to Khan Younis so that is where he is now! He lives in a tent with his immediate family of 9. They are all currently (as of August 2024), trying to get ready to move yet again.

I video chatted with him to verify him before I started this Go Fund Me, since he originally only posted censored photos for his safety. I saw the conditions he was living in and his sweet face! Me and his support team have messaged him everyday since. He is the most generous person I have ever met, He is always generous to as many families around him as possible, even when me and the rest of his support team reminds him to save some for himself!

Written by Rebekah:

There have been many hard nights in Rafah , but his family is steadfast and doing as well as possible. The other night, my friends on Seraj's support team complimented Seraj on the wonderful food his family makes with so little under such circumstances. He responded:

“We must always do something to change the mood, my sister, for fun or to change the atmosphere in which we constantly live!”

One of the most impactful ways that Seraj is changing the atmosphere in his Rafah camp is by giving to others. He has completed 5 very successful self directed humanitarian ( on the ground mutual aid) projects since the first day of Ramadan, in which he has given Eidi envelopes and fresh produce to a couple hundred of neighboring children at this point!

Our Current Goals and Priorities:

Seraj has been using your donations for months now to provide for his family. He's bought food, electricity, water, medicine, blankets, gas and other necessities. He has been tirelessly and selflessly serving his family and neighbors.

He is spending $8,000-$13,000 a month on necessities for his family and to do his mutual aid projects (each project has cost $2000-$5000). There are no luxuries to be had, and the food that is available is a far cry from what Seraj's mother used to cook.

As a reminder, no one in Gah-zzah has been able to work for money in over 9 months. The sky-high prices are being charged to folks who have no income, who have lost their savings, and who can barely even connect to the internet.

Seraj's family, like many others in Gah-zzah, are surviving on mutual aid alone. International organizations and nonprofits have abandoned them. We are what we have, and that's so blatantly obvious. Please help Seraj's family stay alive.

Your donations to Seraj's family of 9+ stretch even further than the walls of their tent. Many of his extended family members were recently displaced again, and Seraj is doing his best to support them. He's even given up his spot in the tent for multiple nights so they have some shelter.

Additionally, Seraj is consistently planning new ways to provide relief to his displaced neighbors. He's passionate about helping others, and the days when he can plan and execute his mutual aid projects are the happiest days of this hell for him, by far.

We love Seraj and so deeply want him to succeed. Thank you for helping us help him!

From Seraj in January 2024:

“I am Seraj, a 20 year old [now 21 as of March!] young man from Gah-zzah. I lived with my parents and 5 siblings. Before, I was living my life like anyone else. My dream was to live in peace, in tranquility, to achieve my wishes and the wishes of my family, to seek a safe and wonderful future, to obtain a university degree, and to obtain a profession, a job! …

I had reached the third level in university and spent two full years studying. I specialized in the field of information technology, mobile programming branch. But now, I cannot complete my studies. My university is destroyed and my MSI laptop is gone. I bought it for exactly $1,500 but it was there at the university, in the lab room (full of equipment) when the university was bombed. On Saturday I should have had a practical test on my laptop, but unfortunately I didn't have the chance to do the test.

Despite the fact that everything I worked for is gone now and we are unsure when this will end and what will happen to us in the coming days and weeks, I keep dreaming. I always said: “You will not achieve your dreams if you do not dream”.

My dream now is to live through this, then buy a new laptop and complete my studies.

It is really expensive but at least I can try.

[edit from Sky: he need to to focus on this as a dream goal to get him through this inhumane situation]

I hope you can help me regain my studies, my dream, and my future. Help me reach my goal please by donating to this campaign.

Don't leave me stuck like this! Please share this campaign with your family, friends, donate as much as you can, I really need your help. I would be forever grateful if you will help me to have a future. For my family, for me, for Gah-zzah.

Thank you so much❤️”

How Seraj gets your donations:

The Go Fund Me money will first go to my bank account and then I wire transfer it to him. I have been able to successfully send donations to Bank accounts in Pal-eh-stine.

Stay connected:

- Follow Seraj’s new Instagram at @⁨its.ser3j0 (his previous 4 accounts were deleted), and if you ever can’t find the account, please report to instagram that they need to bring it back.

Here is a photo of Seraj from when he was able to be a student:

Image Description: Seraj is wearing a red sweater and backpack and standing in front of a wall covered in vines by some trees.