Palestinian; seeking Undergraduate degree in Medicine and is enrolled at Al-Azhar University.
I am a Palestinian refugee from Burayr, and a sophomore medical student at Al-Azhar University, Gaza. Studying medicine is a dream come true for me. My family instilled in me the values of of love, compassion and caring for others. I found them all under one roof: the medical profession. I knew all along that I wanted to be a doctor.
In 2017 our family experienced a traumatic event. Ahmad, my brother was diagnosed with a severe heart condition that required urgent surgical intervention. It was impossible for Ahmad to undergo surgery in Gaza. The health care sector is in shambles. We were racing time. My parents were lucky to have been able to secure a medical evacuation order for Ahmad to the west bank. Ahmad underwent surgery and his life was spared.
We Palestinians "love life" as long as we have a way to live it, to quote Mahmoud Darwish. We deal with our seemingly endless struggles and work hard to overcome any difficulty to find a better future for ourselves and our families.
I channeled the energy generated by life's challenges, the personal and collective into something greater. I shifted my mind-set. I used a family near tragedy moment as my motivation to excel and qualify for med school. Now, I am a second-year med student with much hope and ambition to be a part of the new generation that will rebuild our health system.
Why Would Donors Fund You?
I know what I want, how to plan for my goal and what it takes to achieve it. Funding my education helps build a future for myself and my community. We Palestinians do not study to leave. We study to stay and pay back the land that we treasure as our most precious possession.
Help me give my people who might not be as lucky as Ahmad my brother a second chance to live.
How Do You Plan to Payback?
Gaza suffers from a chronic shortage of healthcare infrastructures. Hospitals themselves become targets for airstrikes during crises. I intend to establish a mobile operating room. The mobile operating room provides quick access to medical care in the shortest possible time.
It provides immediate care and makes the task of first responders much easier.
I hope I can fundraise for this project, and my "Bright Hands" startup as soon as I become economically independent .
Volunteer Work/Social Capital
- I volunteered in Heart for Orphans project. It's a volunteer project for AMIDEAST ACCESS alumni to train Al-Amal Institute orphans in embroidery, drawing on glass, drawing on wood, paperwork and handicrafts.
- I volunteered with a team to decorate and clean up many schools in my living area.
- I spearheaded the team for the Hult prize 2021, "Food for Good; Transforming food into a
vehicle for change" . It is a student competition that challenges students to solve the most pressing
global issues through viable business ideas. We were one of the top six finalists, but
could not win first place - and did not qualify to finance the Accelerator.
What Have You Done to Improve Yourself? Awards and Achievements
• I led my team to the top 6 finalists at the Hult Prize Gaza Regional Impact Summit.
• I completed secondary school [Tawjihi], science track - 2019 with 98.1% GPA.
• Basic life saving first aid training at Al-Azhar University – Gaza.
• English Language: Access Microscholarship Program by AMIDEAST, Ottoman Cultural Center and Mercy Corps Organization.
• Computer Driving Licenses (ICDL).
• Life Skills at Mercy Corps Organization.
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