Mo

Salaam Alaikum!

Hello, my name is Luiza and I am a Registered Nurse and independent scholar based in Toronto, Canada. I am hosting this campaign for my friend Mohammed, a young man and the eldest son of his family in Gaza, Palestine. Instead of working through his third year of his university degree, he is taking care of a large family and trying to meet very basic daily needs like food, cooking gas (instead of scrap firewood), and medicine. This is a sweet, hardworking family trying to survive in unthinkable conditions - please listen to his story in his own words, below:

***

My name is Mohamed, and I am from the Gaza Strip. This is not just a story -- it is our daily reality.

I never imagined that one day I would have to write my life story to ask for help, but what we are living through is beyond hat any family can endure in silence.

We used to live a simple life filled with small dreams - safety, education, and a stable future. Our home was modest, but it was full of warmth, love, and hope. Everything changed suddenly. Our lives were turned upside down, and survival became our daily struggle.

Today, our suffering is not only from fear and destruction, but also from cold, hunger, and the severe lack of basic necessities. Electricity is cut for long periods, clean water is scarce, and cooking gas has become extremely difficult to find. Even preparing a simple meal has become a challenge.

Because of the gas shortage in the country, we ae forced to light fires using wood, cardboard, or anything we can find just to cook whatever small amount of food is available. We stand for long hours in smoke and exhaustion just to prepare one meal, and sometimes there is nothing to cook at all. Hunger is no longer a temporary hardship - famine has become a real and frightening threat to our family, and children often sleep with empty stomachs.