The event aimed at raising $500,000 for the specialized
treatment of 1,000 Palestinian children from poor families from all over
the West Bank especially from poor and marginalized rural areas (such
as Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Qalqilia, Salfit, Hebron, Bethlehem) at specialized
Palestinian Hospitals in East Jerusalem as follows:
- Makassed Islamic Hospital: mainly
for children requiring specialized neonatal and pediatric surgery
& intensive care, as well as heart (cardiac) and bone (orthopedic)
surgeries.
- Augusta Victoria Hospital: mainly
for surgeries requiring ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery, kidney
diseases, surgery and dialysis as well as cancer treatment.
- St. John Eye Hospital: for eye (ophthalmic)
surgeries and other procedures.
- St. Joseph Hospital: mainly for surgeries
requiring neurosurgery and other surgical procedures.
- Red Crescent Hospital: for premature
babies requiring extra neonatal care.
- Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children:
for children requiring rehabilitation after sustaining injuries.
The average cost of treating a child is $500, although some children
required as little as $200 while other may required $2,000 or more for
proper treatment.
The objectives of this fund raising was in three-fold:
- To treat young children who come from poor families who cannot afford
the treatment fees, although already subsidized by the charitable
hospitals.
- To provide extra income for East Jerusalem Hospitals which are being
financially strained by the siege around Jerusalem and by the targeting
of the hospitals by the Israeli authorities in order that they go
bankrupt and close down.
- To create linkages between the children and their families in the
West bank and hospitals and services in East Jerusalem. At the moment,
any child requiring treatment in one of the East Jerusalem Hospitals
will be allowed to enter the City with a member of their family.
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