Help Support a Family in Gaza, Palestine

My name is Senan Kassem and I am a Palestinian living in Canada. I am raising funds for my friend, Farah Tlal Mohammed Mteer (Joy), a 19-year-old from Gaza, whose life has been upended by war. Like the large majority of Palestinians in Gaza, her family cannot leave due to the lack of opportunities and financial support. Despite excelling in school with a 99% average and pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor, Joy’s world was shattered when the war took away her home, her school, her mother, and the stability of her family. She now lives with her 4 brothers, 2 sisters, and her father - but, due to the ongoing conflict, blockades, and limited access to work and medical care in Gaza - they are struggling to afford essentials, such as medication, food, and shelter. Additionally, after her university was destroyed, Joy is now faced with an overwhelming situation with no relief in sight.

I am setting up this GoFundMe to raise funds for Joy's medical education, her father’s heart medication, and to help meet her family’s basic needs, including food, shelter, and medical care. With your support, we aim to raise $20,000 to cover medical expenses for the next year, meet the family’s basic needs, and assist Joy in pursuing higher education. Any amount, big or small, will make a tremendous difference in their lives.

Here is her story in her own words:

"Hello everyone, I am Joy from Gaza. I am 19-years old and I was an outstanding student with an average of 99% in highschool. I was excited to start studying my dreams of medicine. I lived happily with my mother, father, four sisters, and two brothers in a simple, but safe home.

Everything changed when the war came - it took everything happy in my life. Our house was destroyed, my university and my father's workplace were ruined, and worst of all, my mother was killed because of the injuries she suffered. She always dreamed of me becoming a good doctor.

With my mother gone and because I am the eldest, I became the sole support for my father, who is a heart patient who needs urgent treatment, and for my siblings. We now live in a tent in an unhealthy environment without access to enough food or water. Every day I try to provide for my family while trying to keep my father alive. Now I've lost everything and I just hope I can come back to life again.

I dream of traveling out, my family and I, and save ourselves from death here. We do not want to die as my mother died, and I do not want to see my father suffer from illness and pain or to see my brothers suffer from hunger and thirst. The war has taken all our lives!

I dream of a chance to fix our lives and to leave the destruction behind. I want to complete my medical studies so I can help my father and meet my mother’s wish for me to become a doctor. The war has taken so much from us, so I hope that with some help I can save my family from this hell."

All funds collected will be used to help Joy and her family survive and meet their basic needs for as long as the genocide continues: food, water, rent, medicine, clothes, transport, and school tuition. They will be delivered via Western Union/bank transfers directly to Joy or her relatives. If there is a ceasefire and Joy and her family's needs are met, any excess money that was raised will be donated to the Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).