Mirna El Helbawi

Mirna El Helbawi (ميرنا الهلباوي) is an Egyptian journalist, writer, podcaster and activist. She is the founder of Connecting Humanity, a non-profit organisation that helps people in Gaza to regain access to the internet, using donated eSIMs. She was nominated for the Arab Journalism Award in 2016.

Connecting Humanity
Israeli bombardment, electricity blockades and fuel shortages have caused the near-total collapse of Gaza's largest cell network providers. El Helbawi discovered that eSIMs could be used to reconnect people in Gaza by allowing them to connect to remote cell phone networks, including Israeli and Egyptian networks, when roaming. The first two people that she helped get back online through eSIMs were Egyptian journalist Ahmed El-Madhoun and Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary.

Connecting Humanity claim that, by December 2023, 200,000 people living in Gaza (around 10% of the population) had received internet access through an eSIM. News of the initiative spread quickly through social media, and by December $1.3 million worth of eSIMs were donated to Connecting Humanity. The project is an international effort, with people in countries such as the United States, Switzerland, and Pakistan donating eSIMs. Donors most commonly used Airalo and Simply to generate eSIMs that could then be distributed in Palestine.

Writing
El Helbawi was shortlisted for the Arab Journalism Award in 2016. Her debut novel, Mor Methl Al Qahwa, Helw Methl Al Chocola (Bitter Like Coffee, Sweet Like Chocolate) was published in 2018. She also hosts the podcast Helbing.