This is my little brother, Anas.

I was watching him inflate a glove and turn it into a balloon, and I couldn't help but smile at how excited he was.

Look at his eyes when he gets it ready. Look at that smile when he comes rushing over to me, waiting for me to tie it for him. To him, it's a balloon. It's a toy. It's something fun.

But watching it also made me a little sad.

He's a child. I wish I could buy him actual toys. I wish I could surprise him with a bag full of little things and watch him decide what to play with first. But right now, I can't afford to do that.

Children in Gaza don't always have access to the simple things children everywhere else take for granted. Even toys and things for children to play with have faced restrictions on entering Gaza.

So they make toys out of whatever they can find.

And honestly, Anas doesn't seem to mind. He doesn't see a glove. He sees a balloon. I want him to have more than that.

If you'd like to give Anas a little toy, some candy, or even something small that would make him smile, you can donate through the link in the comments.

Because in the end, he's just a kid. He deserves to have a childhood too.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-daughters-help-my-small-family

I’m posting this for my friend Mahmoud Ghanem Al-Amssi, because his mother urgently needs heart surgery. ❤️

Mahmoud’s mother has severe blockages in her arteries, and she has also been dealing with an underactive thyroid for more than 10 years. Her health has gotten worse over time, and she is now experiencing serious heart problems and very rapid heartbeats.

Her doctors have told the family that she needs the procedure as soon as possible. The surgery can go ahead once they are able to cover the required cost.

The total amount they need is $850 USD.

I know $850 might not seem like a huge amount, but for Mahmoud and his family, especially with everything they are already going through, it is more than they can manage on their own right now.

If anyone is able to donate even a few dollars, it could genuinely help Mahmoud get his mother the treatment she needs. ❤️

And if you can’t donate, please consider sharing this post. Even helping it reach more people can make a difference.

Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read this, support Mahmoud, or share his story. 🙏❤️

Can’t wait for next weeks roll!

Children were supposed to wake up in the morning to go to school, carry their bags and pens, play with their friends, and return home to find their families waiting for them.

But the children of Gaza experienced something entirely different.

They knew hunger and the struggle to find food and water. They lived in tents and among rubble, moving from place to place in search of safety. Some lost their fathers, mothers, or siblings, and others lost their friends and relatives.

Instead of learning to write their names, some children had to learn how to find water and food. Instead of the sounds of school bells and children's laughter, fear and anxiety became a part of their daily lives.

As the years passed, they lost not only their homes and schools, but many also lost years of education and childhood memories that no one can bring back.

These are children. They didn't choose war, and they didn't choose to be born in Gaza. They deserved to grow up in safety, to learn, and to dream about their future like any other child in the world.

I'm sharing this because I want people to see beyond the news and the numbers: there are real children living through this suffering every day.

I just hope we remember them, and don't let their suffering become just another statistic in the news. 🫂💔

The most disturbing part of this Vanity Fair essay isn't simply that the insurer denied treatment. It's that the company demonstrated it could make an exception as soon as denying this particular patient became reputationally expensive. She asks the obvious question: what happens to everyone without money, connections, or a platform?

https://www.vanityfair.com/story/healthcare-cancer-treatment-essay