BY JACKIE MACKENZIE
A Skye man is currently undertaking a trek in the Cairngorms as part of a big fundraiser to help bring a young Gazan veterinary student to Scotland to complete his studies.
Vet Neil McRae, who lives in Kilbride in south Skye, hopes to raise around £35,000 so that his Palestinian friend, Mustafa Elshekhahmed, can be evacuated from his war-ravaged homeland to further his learning in Glasgow.
Mustafa was half-way through his studies at Al Azhar University’s school of veterinary medicine in Gaza when hostilities broke out in October 2023.
Shortly after the war started, the vet school’s buildings were targeted and destroyed by Israeli bombing. It was Gaza’s first veterinary college and the building had only been completed in 2019.
After the destruction, somehow staff and students managed to keep the veterinary course going via distance learning and Mustafa passed his finals with flying colours in August 2025, qualifying as a vet.
As Neil explains: “With opportunities for further study non-existent in Gaza, it is Mustafa’s dearly-held ambition to come to Scotland to undertake a 12-month course in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law at Glasgow University.
“If successful, Mustafa will return home to Gaza after completing the course, hoping to put what he has learned into effect.
“The university has accepted his application however the course fees – £31,050 – are cripplingly expensive for someone living in Gaza where the economy has collapsed completely.”
Neil has set up an online fundraising page to help cover Mustafa’s course fees, with over £4,500 pledged to date.
To help boost funds, Neil set out yesterday (Wednesday) on a two-day challenge in the Cairngorms during which he will hike up Cairn Gorm, proceed around Loch Avon and camp at Loch Etchachan, where he will swim in the UK’s highest loch.
En route he plans to conduct the UK’s highest veterinary clinical exam – on his own dog Cuilean who will accompany him on the challenge – before embarking on the return leg.
Said Neil: “Please, if you are able and believe this is a worthwhile cause, help support Mustafa’s future by sponsoring my efforts. Every contribution helps, no matter how small.”
To contribute to the fundraiser, go to: https://chuffed.org/project/172157-help-gaza-vet-study-in-scotland
