May 10, 2026
Writing this at 6am. Rent is due in 12 days. We are short.
I do not like writing this but I promised to be honest. We are short on rent this month. The water truck came last week and that was $60 we needed. Formula for my daughter is $18 every four days. The math does not work this month without help. If you have been meaning to give, now is the right time. I am asking directly.
May 3, 2026
My daughter is 5 months old. She does not know any other world.
Five months. She has spent every single day of her life in this apartment or moving because of this war. She does not know what a garden looks like. She has never heard quiet. But she is healthy. She is growing. She reaches for my finger when I hold my hand near hers. That has to be enough for now.
April 25, 2026
Rent paid for April. Three donors made it possible.
April rent is paid. Three people I will never meet decided to help my family this month. The landlord did not have to wait this time. I did not have to ask. I just paid. That felt like dignity. Small thing. Everything right now.
April 18, 2026
Ibrahim asked me what my job is. I did not know what to say.
He sees other children whose fathers go somewhere in the morning and come back in the evening. He asked what I do. I told him I take care of our family. He thought about it and said okay, that is a good job. I could not argue with that. It is the only job I have right now and I take it seriously.
April 11, 2026
Flour is $38 again. Same price. Same empty feeling buying it.
I went to buy flour today. $38 for 25 kilograms. I remember when it was $4. I do not say this to complain. I say it because I want you to understand what the price of bread means here in a way that a news headline cannot explain. Every time I carry that bag home I am carrying the weight of what this place has become.
April 4, 2026
She rolled over for the first time this morning.
My daughter rolled from her back to her front. Four months old and discovering what her body can do. Ibrahim clapped. My wife cried, just for a second, the good kind. These moments happen in the middle of everything else and they are the reason I keep writing these updates.
March 29, 2026
Writing this from the same apartment. Still here.
Rent is due again tomorrow. Water tank is half full. Ibrahim is asleep. My daughter is in her mother's arms. Every day I write these updates I wonder if anyone is reading them. Then a notification comes and I know someone is. Thank you for reading. Thank you for caring. If you can help, even a little, please do.
March 22, 2026
My daughter is 3 months old today.
She has spent every single day of her life inside this damaged apartment. She has never been outside without fear attached to the trip. She is healthy. She is growing. In a place like this, those two facts are the most important things I can say. Three months. Still here. Still ours.
March 17, 2026
Three donors this week. I cannot explain what that means.
A woman from Canada. A man from Australia. Someone who only left their first name. Three strangers who will never meet my family decided to help us anyway. I read every message. My wife asked me to translate the one from Canada. She cried. I am not ashamed to say I did too.
March 11, 2026
Power was out for four days straight.
We used the last of our generator fuel on day two to heat food for the baby. After that, cold meals only. My phone died on day three and I could not post updates. When power flickered back on this morning I just sat there watching the single light bulb like it was something precious.
March 6, 2026
Ibrahim asked when school will open. I did not know what to say.
He should be learning to read. Instead he spends his days drawing pictures of houses with gardens, asking when we can go back to our old street. I told him soon. I do not know if that is true. But I do not know what else to say.
March 1, 2026
March already. Rent is due in three days.
The landlord is decent. He has given us two extra days before. But I hate asking. I was an engineer with a salary. Asking someone to wait for rent money is a humiliation that does not get easier. A donor came through last night. Rent is paid. I slept for the first time in days.
February 24, 2026
Flour prices went up again.
A 25kg bag is now $38. Three weeks ago it was $32. Fewer trucks are getting through. My wife stretched the last bag for 18 days. I do not know how she does it.
February 19, 2026
My daughter smiled today. First real smile.
She is almost two months old. In all this noise and fear and uncertainty, she looked up and smiled. Ibrahim saw it and started laughing. For about thirty seconds, this apartment felt like a home. I needed to write that down.
February 15, 2026
The water truck came late. Again.
We ran out of water yesterday morning. My wife boiled the last half-liter for Ibrahim. The truck finally arrived at 4pm. $60 for water that used to cost almost nothing. But it arrived. That is what I hold onto.
February 12, 2026
Rain flooded our room.
Heavy rain last night. Water poured through holes in the roof. We spent the night moving the baby's mattress away from puddles. We patched the ceiling with what we had before the next storm.
February 8, 2026
Thank you to our first donors of the month.
I received $120 from two kind souls this week. We used it to buy diapers for our daughter and medicine for my wife. This is what direct aid means — no bureaucracy, no delay. Just a family helping a family. From the bottom of my heart: thank you.
February 5, 2026
Water truck came today.
The water truck finally arrived after 4 days of waiting. We filled every container we have — jerry cans, pots, even buckets. Cost: $60 for 1,000 liters. It should last us 10 days if we're extremely careful. Bathing is a luxury we can't afford right now.