Hello everyone, I am Farah from Gaza.

I always had big dreams. Before the war, I was a small business owner, an artist who created delicate handmade pieces from metal wire. I dreamed of opening my own little shop… a place filled with light, colors, creativity, and the joy I felt every time I made something with my hands. A place where I could sit, create, teach, and welcome other girls who shared the same passion.But the war took everything from me. Our home was destroyed. My small shop — the one I saved for, planned for, and poured my heart into — was reduced to rubble. In one moment, everything I had been building disappeared.Still… somehow… I didn’t lose my dream.

Even now, living in a tent in Gaza City, after being displaced four times, after losing my father before the genocide, after becoming fully responsible for my mother and younger sisters, and after caring for my brother who was seriously injured four months ago I hold on to that dream with both hands.Because dreams are sometimes the only thing that survive with us. This is why I started Elham “inspiration.” A small initiative born from everything I lived through. I wanted to create a space where talented women and girls in Gaza could express themselves, rebuild, and find hope again — even when the world tells us it’s impossible. Elham is my way of saying: We still have something inside us worth saving.

‍Today, I am asking for your support so I can help my family survive and so I can slowly rebuild my life, my shop, my art, and keep the spirit of Elham alive. Thank you for reading my story, for feeling with us, and for standing by Gaza in its darkest days.

With love,

-Farah