Shahd Rajab

Shahd Rajab is a 20-year-old artist and has lived in Gaza all her life. She was in her third year of studying at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology before the ongoing genocide began. Now, her university is destroyed like all the rest in Gaza. Her home is gone too.

Rajab has always used drawing as a hobby, since she was a child, to express her feelings and ideas. However, her computer and tablet were also since destroyed.

She is looking to travel with her family of nine to Egypt and help financially recover from the debt her father already had to take on to survive as is. Donate to their campaign below.

Sara Ahmed

Sara Ahmed is a 20-year-old artist in Gaza, who has also gone through a lifelong battle with scoliosis, a spinal condition. She had multiple surgeries but they were unsuccessful and made her right leg weak. Due to restrictions on being a Palestinian in Gaza, she hasn’t been able to further treatment.

Nonetheless she persisted with her passion for drawing and won several competitions, eventually being able to attend Al-Azhar University in Cairo, where she attended for a year before the genocide. However, due to the genocide, she has been stuck in Gaza. Her family’s home is one of the very few that had not been bombed, but there was complete destruction all around them.

It wasn’t until recently in October 2024, the IOF launched escalated invasion on northern Gaza throughout the month, which is still ongoing as of the time of this publishing. Sara and her family were in Jabalia and on October 22nd they were forcibly expelled from their home, with the men and women separated. They were forced to walk through tanks and martyrs around them throughout the whole day, and not until midnight did they re-connect with her father and brother.

She later posted about the day, saying “Whenever we think the worst is over, the worst comes along to discourage us. But as long as we have spirit and we still breathe .. I am here, I exist, I resist.” During this time, she has continued to draw.

About the 2nd image above of her journal, she writes:

“Finally, I was able to embody and draw the most difficult event that happened to me since the beginning of the war, starting with our displacement from the house, passing by the tanks and forcing us to sit in the hole In the middle of the day for hours, and the suffering of walking on Salah al-Din Street under pressure and heat, carrying our heavy bags that contains what is left of our house.”

Sara is raising money for her family and for her eventual surgery to properly address her scoliosis. You can help support her campaign below, or also buy a shirt to contribute as well.

Jehad Ali Jarbou

Jehad Ali Jarbou is a 24-year-old visual artist born in Jaffa. She works in a variety of mediums that include drawing, sculpture, photography, video art, installation works, comics, and more.

“Through art, I try to create a special artistic space for myself, so that I can build my personal identity as a human being.”

She has been displaced in Gaza, and unfortunately her father and one of her brothers were martyred.

Now she is with her mother and younger brother. Assist their campaign below.

Ruba Abu Ouda

Ruba Abu Ouda is a 16-year-old artist who was in 10th grade when the genocide began. She had been an artist for five years at that point, and all her drawings were destroyed with the destruction of her family’s home. She also has a younger brother, two older brothers, and two older sisters – one of whom also did photography as a hobby.

They are from Beit Hanoun and have been displaced to a variety of areas that include Jabalia refugee camp, Deir al-Balah, al-Nuseirat refugee camp, and more. In these places, they have been living out of a tent.

You can help by donating to Ruba and her family’s campaign below.

Laila Kassab

Laila Kassab is a 39-year-old painter from Gaza, who has lived through many attacks. In 2012, her home was destroyed – and thus her room, which served as her art studio. Nearly all of her paintings at that time, and her materials, were destroyed. She decided to start painting with make-up after that instead, for work that ended up being exhibited in Britain.

“I’d like to say that painting is my passport to the world. It is my only pleasure in this life. It is no coincidence that some symbols come more frequently. The woman’s frequent presence is an indication of the homeland or the good land. Birds are sometimes an indication of the desire to be liberated and to stay in a circle of inner peace for some time. This is something difficult to achieve in my country – subjected to successive wars. There is no doubt that each symbol has the power to suggest the meaning of Palestinian existence.”

While her work has been shown in multiple countries, Kassab has been unable to travel freely and visit with her work. Social media is a way she’s cited to get the art out there, but she’s often left frustrated at not being able to go herself, as she would like to travel the world and create.

Now, Kassab and her family have been in Gaza during the ongoing genocide and are working to continue to survive. Donate to her fundraiser below.

Osama Hussein

Osama Hussein is a 27-year-old artist who has been an active artist since a young age and  graduated with a degree in Interior Design from Gaza College.

During the genocide, his small studio and collection of paintings was destroyed.

“Our days involve searching for food and water, a task now nearly impossible to achieve easily and at reasonable prices. Many hours are spent just to secure a bit of bread and water for our family. My family and I have been displaced three times, moving from one house to another until reaching my aunt's house in Rafah.”

He is currently in Gaza with his parents and his two sisters, Riham and Rania. You can donate to their campaign below.