Support Besan's Medical Dream In Gaza

Welcome, compassionate friend.

I’m Melissa, and I’m based in the United States. I’ve been a mutual aid organizer for families in Gaza since early 2024. I work closely with each family, stay in regular contact, and personally coordinate every donation transfer. Receipts are always available.

This fundraiser is for Besan, a 19-year-old medical student from Gaza. I met Besan through the campaign I created for her family. As I got to know them better and spoke with her father about the extraordinary sacrifices they’re making to keep her in medical school, I realized Besan’s story deserved its own campaign.

Funds raised through this campaign will help cover Besan’s university tuition, transportation to and from Al-Azhar University, and other educational expenses so she can continue pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor.

From Besan, in her own words:

From Under the Rubble to a Dream of Healing

My name is Besan. I am a medical student from Gaza, and my story began again on a day when I thought everything had ended.

After the bombing of Gaza, I was pulled out from under the rubble. Around me, there was dust, fear, screams, and silence heavier than anything I had ever known. I survived, but a part of my heart remained there, under the ruins, with the memories of those who did not make it.

During the war, displacement, siege, and hunger, I saw things no young student should ever see. I saw martyrs carried by grieving families. I saw wounded children crying in pain. I saw mothers searching for their sons and fathers trying to protect their families with nothing but prayers. Gaza taught me the meaning of pain, but it also taught me the meaning of strength.

Despite all these circumstances, I continued studying. I held my books while the world around me was falling apart. I studied through fear, hunger, darkness, and displacement. By the grace of God and with great effort, I graduated from high school with a score of 95%.

That achievement was not only a number. It was proof that destruction could not destroy my dream.

Today, I am studying human medicine at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. Despite the extremely difficult conditions, I have achieved a university average of 91.1.

I am a hardworking and intelligent student, but the circumstances in Gaza are very harsh. Life here is full of challenges, yet I continue to hold on to my dream with all the strength I have.

I chose medicine because I do not want to stand helpless in front of the suffering of my people. I want to become a successful doctor who treats the wounded, comforts the injured, and helps restore hope to those who have lost everything. Every patient I saw, every injured child, and every grieving family made my dream clearer.

But today, my dream is facing a very difficult challenge.

University fees in Gaza are very expensive, and my family is going through extremely hard conditions. My father suffers from heart disease, and I try my best to help him and support my family. We are a family of eight, and the burden is heavy. Still, I do not want poverty, war, or hardship to take away the future I have fought so hard for.

I am not asking for luxury. I am asking for a chance to continue my education. I am asking for help to pay my university fees so I can keep studying medicine and one day serve my people as a doctor.

I survived the rubble for a reason. I believe that reason is to heal others, to stand beside the wounded, and to turn my pain into mercy.

Your support can help me continue my journey. It can help a girl from Gaza move one step closer to wearing the white coat, not for herself only, but for every wounded soul waiting for care, hope, and healing.

Please help me complete my medical education, support my family, and keep my dream alive.

From Besan’s father, Muhammad:

“When Besan goes to university, she travels a very long distance, about twenty kilometers. We live in Khan Younis, and the university is in Gaza City. She leaves at six in the morning and returns at eight in the evening due to the difficulty of transportation, the destruction, and the rough roads.

I am so invested in Besan’s education that we deprive ourselves of everything, sometimes even food, and give the money to Besan’s education. She has a bright future ahead of her, so she can serve the people and the health sector in Gaza.”

Whether you choose to donate, share this campaign, or simply take the time to read Besan’s story, thank you for standing in solidarity with her.

You can follow Besan’s journey on Instagram at @dr.besan8.

If you have any campaign questions: @mmortars_.