Wesam is a farmer in the southern part of the Gaza strip. Eking out a living as a farmer is hard work in any part of the world, but even more so in Gaza. His greenhouse was directly hit during the continuous bombing raids and the sweet pepper plants he had planted four months earlier were destroyed.

Four years ago, Wesam was able to benefit from the Murabaha (Cost-Plus Financing) system with Islamic Relief to establish his agricultural greenhouse.

“I never imagined that my greenhouse would be bombed and that I would lose my livelihood in the blink of an eye.

I spent all my time and effort on my small plot. Every day after Fajr prayer, I would go to the greenhouse to look after my crops. I loved being there and seeing the seedlings growth day by day.

My brother would work with me, and we were able to support two of our families with it. We worked hard with what we had and didn’t ask for more help. We sold our crops in the market and were able to provide for our families.

I would grow melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes, but this year we will sell nothing. The sweet pepper which I cultivated have all been destroyed.  

I was able to establish this greenhouse with the help of Islamic Relief’s financing, and now I am worried about paying off my debts. I am afraid that I will not be able to pay it all back as we have no other source of income.

Despair. I felt devastated and broken when I saw my greenhouse after the bombing. I felt a deep sense of despair. I couldn’t bear to see the shards of glass and melted plastic strewn all over. I had tears in my eyes, picking up the peppers, all mangled and destroyed. The remnant of the rocket and the toxic gases in the greenhouse was nauseating.

I am determined to get back, but I know that I can’t build this greenhouse by myself. I am estimating my loss to be about $5000, which is a big amount for me and more that I can ever save up.

I hope that Islamic Relief will help me and build my greenhouse so that I can support my family.

Everyone has dreams, my dream is only that I can provide a living for my children.

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