Mirna El Helbawi

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Mirna El Helbawi is an Egyptian journalist, writer, podcaster and activist. Born in 1991 or 1992, she founded Connecting Humanity, a nonprofit that helps Gaza residents reconnect to the internet by distributing eSIMs that connect to networks in Israel and Egypt. The effort began after Gaza’s communications blackout. The first people helped were Egyptian journalist Ahmed El-Madhoun and Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary. By December 2023, Connecting Humanity said about 200,000 Gazans had internet access through eSIMs, with donations totaling around $1.3 million and support from donors in the United States, Switzerland and Pakistan. Donors commonly used Airalo and Simply to generate the eSIMs. In 2024 she was recognized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation with an award for Championing Internet Access in Gaza; she had previously been nominated for the Arab Journalism Award in 2016.

In addition to her activism, El Helbawi is a published writer. Her debut novel Bitter Like Coffee, Sweet Like Chocolate appeared in 2018, followed by Kundalini in 2024. Kundalini is being adapted into a feature film, starring Menna Shalaby and Dhafer L'Abidine and directed by Mohamed Salama. She also hosts the podcast Helbing.