Please consider supporting…

Should any of you want to send money to any of the cases I’ve blogged about, I can promise that I will pass all of it on to the intended recipient as requested. I’ve already used some of my own money for cases, but it’s far inadequate.

Some examples where a little money can make a large difference (depending, of course, on one’s concept of a ‘little money’) [PLEASE NOTE, I WILL MOVE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE CASES WHICH HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING OR ARE LESS URGENT]:

-financial support to the Wishah family in Breij camp, with 6 children and a tight income, Maher Wishah struggles to provide nutritious food for the family.

-financial support [long-term sponsorship if possible!] to the families living in the Sharka street area just outside Gaza city. Theirs is a grinding poverty, and it seems that much of the aid coming into Gaza now will address the victims of Israel’s war on Gaza and the much-needed rebuilding efforts [if the Israelis and Egyptians ever allow the aid through, that is]. Yet the on-going siege on Gaza has caused disastrous situations also needing attention. More on the al Bateran families.

-Hadwa al Bateran, from the same impoverished lane. She lives alone in a single room, no income, no aid.

-financial support to the Mattah family, living in very poor conditions and unemployed, with medical costs and the normal electricity, water and food bills of any family.

-financial support to widowed Naama Barbakh and her five remaining children. Three children, her husband, and a nephew were martyred in an Israeli missile attack on January 4th.

-financial support for Mousa Samouni and his 6 younger siblings, orphaned after Israeli soldiers bombed the house which around 100 people were forced into and held captive by Israeli soldiers. Money would be used to buy clothing, shoes, books, and furniture, as well as to support them in their daily food and other needs, in order to allow Mousa and his siblings to continue their education and strive for some semblance of a ‘normal’ life after such a horribly abnormal massacre. UPDATE: A US sponsor has sent some donations for the children, which I delivered on April 28.

-a new delivery van for Amer al Helo, the father whose baby girl and own father were shot dead in front of him. Formerly, he supported his family via his work delivering bread. The van was bombed, burned, during Israel’s assault on Gaza. His former van cost $15,000. I’m asking around to see how much a replacement van would cost, if available.

-money for medecine for Maher Habashi: he needs 130 Shekels worth (roughly US $ 31, Cdn $39) of tablets every 10 days and tube of cream every other day at 60 Shekels (US $14.50, Cdn $18). Per month, then, he’s spending nearly 1300 Shekels (~US$310, Cdn$400) per month on medicine alone, not to mention the lost-income to his family’s regular daily needs.

RECEIVING AID:

-Hamsa al Bateran, living with his wife Iman in a one-room cement block home. Some of the money which Canadian sponsors had given me upon initially heading to Gaza half a year ago went towards buying 4 chickens, a source of eggs, thus protein. Hama’s donkey was killed, cart destroyed, during Israel’s war on Gaza. On April 17, we bought a new horse and cart, thanks to donations from a Canadian woman, UK sponsors, and the timely-formed Ground Force Gaza. As one GFG founder said: “The funds can help those families to be independent and rebuild their lives. I don’t think anyone wants charity in this world…..people want to be able to work and fend for themselves….it just helps to get them started again. These people are so proud and resilient, quite amazing for being under occupation for so long.” Hamsa now feels able to earn a living and better his family’s life. And he did not take this act for granted: “God sent me this. I never imagined I’d get another donkey or horse.”

UPCOMING PROJECTS for Hamsa and Iman:

-to convert Hamsa and Iman’s unhygenic indoor toilet into a shower room only, and build a small toilet outside. The current and the planned toilet are very basic structures.

-to build a small kitchen space, ideally with room for a small 2 or 3 burner gas countertop range and shelves for the few pots and plates they currently have piled off the floor.

*NOTE both these ideas are Hamsa’s, not my own. “I don’t want my child to live in a room next to a toilet which leaks horrible fumes (and likely horrible germs),” he said regarding the toilet.

-blankets, mattresses, clothing, and a gas range (2 or 3 burner) for the Shamali family in Schaff whose home has one functioning room in which all 9 members of the family cram to sleep. UPDATE: NEW BLANKETS! still need the gas range.

-Mohammad Ahmad Kahawish, 70, and wife, 2 daughters and 1 son. He is injured in his left leg [fell off of bike, doctor has ordered to walk as little as possible]. He also has an eye injury which has left him blind in the left eye. His son, beaten by Israeli soldiers in 1987, suffers psychoses and is also nearly-blind, thus unable to work. The family’s house was damaged by bombing in the area around them. There are large cracks where walls meet the ceiling. Rain comes through these cracks and causes all the ceilings to leak. [UPDATE ON THE ROOF!!]

UPDATE MAY 6

-rent for a small apartment for the Safi family, whose father Fadell is paralysed (of natural causes, a stroke) and whose home was destroyed (unnatural causes, the F-16ing of a 6 story house next door, which collapsed on and destroyed their own house). They’ve been crowding into a relative’s 2 room house but are on the verge of being expelled as the relative doesn’t have room for his own family. Fadell also requires 3 different types of medicine: UPDATE ON THE APARTMENT THE SAFIS HAVE MOVED INTO

-financial aid to the families of Mohammad al-Buraim and Anwar al-Buraim, farmers in the Khan Younis region who come from very poor families. Anwar, killed on 27 January by Israeli soldiers while he was farming, was the sole breadwinner of his family. Anwar’s cousin Mohammed, shot on 17 February by Israeli soldiers while farming in the same area as Anwar, is one of many children from a very poor family.

-financial aid to the family of Rafiq abu Reala, a fisherman shot in the back on 14 February by Israeli naval soldiers who attacked the small fishing craft just two nautical miles off Gaza’s coast. The exploding ‘dumdum’ bullets which broke into numerous tiny pieces lacerated his spine and punctured one lung. Rafiq’s family, including his pregnant new bride, were dependent on the income he added to the extended family. The fishing industry has been greatly destroyed by the Israeli-imposed siege, by the War on Gaza which damaged numerous fishing vessels, and most of all by the continual presence of Israeli gunboats patrolling Gaza’s waters and shooting on unarmed fishermen. This limits their ability to fish in deep waters, or at all, and means a much-diminished income.

Another means of directly impacting families if you are only able to give a limited amount for a limited time is to donate to me purchasing blankets to distribute to some of the areas I’ve been (that said, there are 1000s of families suffering from the cold, without adequate blankets and shelter. But one family at a time is better than nothing). I’m trying to find the average price for the remaining blankets in Gaza but based on what I’ve see thus far they will be around 150 Shekels (roughly just under $40). I will update this if a better price comes along.

I also welcome ideas from outside: if you have suggestions on how your donations should be spent, please let me know, I’ll see if it is possible to follow through on (depending largely on the availability of materials here).

Money could be sent via Western Union [you must choose "Palestinian Authority" for the country and direct it to Gaza City as the pick-up city] which I can access [with an email to me to tell me the expected amount and name of sender and access number].

Send to Eva Bartlett [or, if you prefer to choose a person I've written about, I can give you correct spelling for his/her name and try to accompany him/her to the W.U. office if they need it].

Be sure to send me a personal email with the expected amount and name of sender [your name as it appears on the form you fill out to send the money] and access number given to you by the W.U. office.

MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING…

There are also countless cases where the need is for political pressure (on Egypt, on Israel) to allow patients out of Gaza for treatment unvailable within.

Shortly, I’ll begin to list cases which have come to my attention, with the caveat that there are far too many more than those I’ve met, and that the overlying root problem is the siege on Gaza and the destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure, among other ravaged sectors