Help 5-Year-Old Mariam and Her Family Escape the Horrors of War in Gaza 🍉🕊
Five-year-old Mariam,🕊with her bright pink backpack and tiny hands clutching a red rose, was ready to head to her KG2 class. It was a Saturday morning, October 7, and Mariam was filled with excitement and pride for reaching the next stage of her education. She wanted to surprise her kind teacher with that little rose. But in an instant, her world — our world — was torn apart.
Without warning, the skies filled with the sounds of explosions. The joyful morning turned into a nightmare of dust, fear, and destruction. Her preschool was shattered, her teacher’s life taken, and our neighborhood became a place of ruin. That single day marked the beginning of a relentless assault on Gaza — a place where childhood dreams, laughter, and innocence were erased in moments.
I am Khaled Ismail, a 41-year-old father, and my wife Rasha is 32. We live in Gaza with our three children. Our youngest, beautiful Mariam🕊, is just five years old. Our eldest, Walid, 12, is a boy full of dreams, always hoping to become an inventor. And in the middle, there’s Karim, our 10-year-old, whose laughter and jokes used to brighten our darkest days.
But the war has left scars that words cannot heal. The day of the first airstrike changed everything. Rubble covered their toys, and black dust filled the air. The sound of my children’s cries mixed with the chaos of families running for their lives. We left our home that day, desperately searching for safety. But every step, every shelter, brought only more destruction.
For a year now, we have been displaced, moving from one place to another, only to be met with more violence. Today, our home is nothing more than a frail tent. It offers no shelter from the burning heat of summer or the biting cold of winter. My children’s small bodies are battered by this reality — malnutrition, intestinal infections, heat stroke, and even hepatitis are constant threats.
I have nothing left to change our situation. My children have lost everything. I have lost everything. Their childhood is buried under the rubble, their dreams replaced by survival, and their once-joyful laughter now a faint memory.
I am humbly reaching out to you with a plea to help us escape this endless nightmare. Our dream is simple: to find safety, to give our children a chance at life, to give Mariam and her brothers a future. With every dollar, you offer a glimmer of hope, a step closer to a place where they can finally be children again.
Please, be the reason my family finds peace. Your support, even just one dollar, can make all the difference. Together, we can turn this story of despair into one of hope and resilience. Start today, and be a part of the miracle we need.
Help Mariam🕊. Help my family. Let us find a place to live with dignity and hope. Thank you for reading, and thank you for caring.
