At just 18 years old, Malak is fighting to keep alive a childhood dream that many would have abandoned under far lighter burdens: the ambition to become a doctor. Today, her daily reality is far removed from the lecture halls of a university. She lives alongside her mother and her two brothers, Uday and Atef, inside a cramped and worn tent in Gaza. Their permanent concrete family home, like so much of the surrounding infrastructure, was reduced to rubble during the ongoing crisis. Life for the family is defined by relentless difficulty, profound uncertainty, and the daily struggle for basic survival. Yet, despite the staggering odds stacked against her, Malak remains fiercely determined to continue her education, reclaim her future, and one day heal others.
The path that brought Malak to the threshold of medical school was fraught with extraordinary obstacles. Despite the immense disruption, widespread displacement, and constant trauma caused by the crisis, she pressed forward with her secondary education. Her hard work culminated in an impressive high school graduation score of 96%. Armed with this exceptional academic achievement, she made the decisive choice to study medicine—taking a vital, concrete step toward the career she has dreamed of for years.
However, translating that academic milestone into actual attendance has proven to be an uphill battle of monumental proportions. Continuing higher education under current conditions in Gaza is an immensely complex endeavor. Numerous universities, colleges, and educational facilities across the region have sustained severe damage or have been entirely destroyed. As a result, much of the academic infrastructure has been forced to shift online, creating a heavy reliance on digital learning tools.
For Malak, accessing these virtual classrooms is hindered by infrastructural collapse. Reliable internet access is remarkably difficult to secure, and she desperately needs a laptop to successfully attend lectures, engage with course materials, and complete her academic assignments. Beyond the technological barriers lie severe financial hurdles. Her university tuition fees present another major challenge, and her family simply cannot afford the costs without external financial assistance and ongoing support.
Studying While Living with Pain
Malak’s daily struggle is not solely academic or economic; she is also carrying the heavy physical and emotional toll of a serious injury. During the conflict, she was shot, and the bullet remains dangerously lodged in her abdomen. Navigating her studies while managing chronic pain requires immense resilience. She continues to attend medical check-ups whenever possible, while waiting for specialized surgery that remains entirely unavailable to her under Gaza’s collapsing and overburdened healthcare system.
Despite living with physical pain and the constant threat of danger, Malak refuses to let her circumstances defeat her, balancing her rigorous studies with domestic responsibilities to help support her family. Within the confines of their fragile tent, she assists her mother with vital everyday tasks, including cooking, cleaning, and washing. Her mother works tirelessly in a small local bakery, but the meager income she earns falls woefully short of covering the family’s basic daily needs amid skyrocketing prices and widespread shortages.
Life After Losing Their Home
Before the crisis shattered their lives, Malak and her family lived securely in a concrete house, possessing the basic dignities of shelter and space. The destruction of their home forced them into a starkly different reality, relocating them to a worn tent that offers virtually no insulation or protection against the elements. As the seasons shift, the tent provides little defense against biting cold weather, intense summer heat, or heavy, penetrating rain.
The family’s daily existence is a constant scramble for essentials. They are in urgent need of basic living items, including a structurally stronger tent, waterproof coverings to ward off the rain, mattresses, blankets, basic cooking equipment, cooking gas, a water tank, adequate food supplies, hygiene products, and a reliable source of light. For Malak specifically, the material needs are equally pressing; she requires appropriate clothes and shoes, alongside critical financial help to clear her university fees and secure the laptop mandatory for her medical studies.
How Islamic Relief Supports Orphaned Children and Vulnerable Families
In the midst of these compounding crises, Malak’s family relies on outside assistance to stay afloat. They receive vital support from Islamic Relief, an organization stepping in at a time when rising costs, displacement, and economic collapse have made meeting everyday survival needs nearly impossible for vulnerable households across Gaza.
Islamic Relief has maintained a long-standing commitment to the region, supporting orphaned children in Gaza since 1999 through its established Orphan Sponsorship Programme. The initiative is specifically designed to aid children who have lost one or both parents, providing families with a regular monthly financial payment that offers a degree of stability amidst chaos.
The structure of the programme allows families the flexibility to use the support to address the needs they consider most urgent at any given moment, whether that means purchasing food, accessing necessary healthcare, covering educational expenses, or managing other essential household costs. Furthermore, Islamic Relief endeavors to include sponsored families in broader seasonal support initiatives whenever possible. This includes distributions of food parcels during Ramadan and Qurbani, Eid gifts for children, and specialized winter assistance packages to help families endure harsh weather conditions.
The scale of this humanitarian intervention has expanded significantly in response to the current crisis. Islamic Relief is actively supporting nearly 25,200 orphaned children throughout Gaza, providing a crucial safety net for youngsters who have lost their primary providers. However, the depth of the need remains staggering, with over 5,100 orphaned children currently lingering on the organization’s waiting list, hoping for the lifeline of sponsorship to secure their own futures.
A Chance to Keep Moving Forward
For Malak, the push to continue her university education transcends the conventional desire to earn a degree or secure a profession. Her motivations are deeply personal and rooted in the shared suffering of her community. She holds onto the profound hope that by eventually becoming a doctor, she will be uniquely positioned to care for and treat people who are experiencing the exact same pain, trauma, and hardship she has lived through herself.
Despite the loss of her home, the physical burden of an unoperated gunshot wound, the constant background of danger, and the formidable barriers obstructing her education, Malak has resolutely refused to give up on her dream. With continued humanitarian aid and targeted support, young people like Malak can preserve their education, hold onto hope, and continue working step-by-step toward a safer and more secure future.
Islamic Relief’s Orphan Sponsorship Programme continues to play a vital role in providing regular, dependable support to orphaned children and their vulnerable families across Gaza, offering a pathway toward resilience even in the darkest of circumstances.