My name is Jules and I have worked for a wonderful charity called The Hands Up Project sice 2017. This charity connects students and teachers in Gaza with their peers in many countries around the world. Each week I would prepare a lesson with my counterpart in Beit Hanoun then we would deliver the lesson together online. Students would tell stories, discuss topics of interest to them, share opinions and have fun using English to communicate their ideas.

One of my students was a bright, active, artistically-gifted girl called Ruba. Her life has changed considerably since those happy days: she and her family have been displaced and are now living in appalling conditions in Gaza since the start of the conflict. Please read her story below:

Hello everyone. My name is Ruba and I'm fifteen years old. I didn't complete tenth grade because of the war conditions and this makes me very sad. My hobby is drawing. I have been drawing for five years and I drew many drawings. I made a corner in the house for these drawings, but they were all burned due to the destruction of the house.

Let me tell you about my family. My father's name is Ashraf Abu Ouda and my mother's name is Sabah Alsaifi My father is retired from work and my mother is a teacher. I have a younger brother called Amir. He is 12 years old and in seventh grade. He was not able to complete his studies because of the war and he enjoyed playing football in our garden at home.

I have two older sisters: Raghad is 19 years old. She finished high school last year and did not go to university because of the war, as she wants to study pharmacy. She enjoys taking pictures and documenting moments. Roaa is 24 years old. She graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry last year, a week before the war, and could not get a job due to the war conditions. Roaa enjoys reading novels, and cooking delicious dishes in the kitchen of our house.

I also have two older brothers who are currently living in Egypt: Ahmed is 23 years old and studying for a master’s degree at Cairo University. Muhammad is 22 years old and studying medicine at Zagazig University in Egypt. He loves reading medical books.

Life has changed for us completely now. We were forced with my family to leave our house in Beit Hanoun from the first hour. Then we started our journey of displacement to Mashroa Beit Lahia, Jabalia camp, Deir Albalah, Nuseirat camp and Rafah. Now we live in Al-Zawaida.

In all these places we have been living in a tent in a terrifying situation where we are exposed to missiles and bombardment. Every day we lack healthy food, water and medicine and now we are suffering from insects, flies and diseases in summer. We have been suffering for 8 months until now and have nowhere to go as our house has been destroyed

We used to enjoy family gatherings when the whole family got together but now we miss my brothers who study in Egypt. I would love more than anything for our family to be safely together again and escape this conflict.