Diari Hatem Shurrab: 23 Januari

(Gambar AFP)

Di antara catatan diari saudara Hatem Shurrab sehingga kini (28 Januari 2009), catatan pada 23 Januari 2009 yang paling terkesan di hati saya. Terjemahan diarinya diterjemahkan oleh Tuan Naim Jalil.

Gaza: 23 Januari 2009

Buat pertama kali untuk tahun ini, saya dapat menunaikan Sembahyang Jumaat di masjid.

Saya mendakap ramai orang hari ini; berminggu-minggu saya tidak jumpa mereka, namun terasa seolah-olah kami dipertemukan semula setelah bertahun-tahun terpisah.

Perasaan hati kami bercampur-baur, ada gembira dan ada sedih. Ahmad, salah seorang rakan karib saya berkata: “Aku gembira sebab engkau selamat, tapi aku juga sedih dengan sekian ramainya orang yang terkorban.”

Semalam, saya bertemu John Holmes, Setiausaha Agung Kedua PBB untuk Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. Dia kata, dia selalu membaca diari saya.

Kami berkongsi rasa tentang dahsyatnya kemusnahan dan kerosakan yang berlaku.

Betapa pula remuknya hati mereka yang kehilangan orang tersayang dan melihat semua yang mereka miliki, musnah di hadapan mata.

Saya pasti, rumah dan bangunan yang musnah akan dibina semula – tetapi bagaimana dengan hidup yang telah hancur?

Siapa yang dapat membantu mereka berdiri semula?

Dianggarkan terdapat kira-kira 30,000 orang kehilangan tempat tinggal.

Sewaktu mengagihkan bungkusan makanan di kem pelarian Jabaliya, saya bertemu seorang ayah bernama Adel, bersama isteri dan dua anaknya yang masih kecil di salah satu pusat perlindungan di situ.

Saya tanyakan, kenapa dia tidak pulang ke rumah.

Katanya, dia sudah balik dan mendapati kesemuanya sudah musnah.

Kami juga berbual tentang kehidupannya sebelum serangan ini – dia miskin dan tiada pekerjaan.
Beribu-ribu kini hilang tempat tinggal di Gaza. Adel adalah salah seorang daripada 1.3 juta rakyat Gaza yang terus bergantung kepada bantuan makanan masyarakat antarabangsa untuk dia dan keluarganya terus hidup.

Sekarang, dia tidak mempunyai wang untuk menyewa tempat tinggal.

Cerita Adel, sama seperti cerita beribu-ribu lagi rakyat Gaza.

Saya bangga dengan usaha-usaha Islamic Relief sepanjang minggu-minggu kebelakangan ini.
Saya teringat tiga kanak-kanak perempuan, adik-beradik, mampu mengorak senyum, bila pasukan bantuan kami menyampaikan bungkusan makanan kepada mereka.

Di dalamnya, di samping makanan lain, ada halwa, sejenis manisan tradisional. Ini sudah cukup untuk mengukir senyuman di wajah mereka.

Kami telah membelanjakan hampir tiga juta dollar dalam usaha bantuan kami setakat ini dan kami sedang giat menggandakan kerja-kerja bantuan di tempat kejadian.

Sepanjang tiga minggu yang lalu, kami telah mengagihkan 11,000 bungkusan makanan ke 12 pusat perlindungan PBB di Gaza, Rafah dan Khan Younis.

Setiap bungkus mengandungi beras, gula, kacang dal, pes tomato, kekacang, daging dalam tin dan jem.

Kami juga menyediakan lebih 4,000kg daging beku di hospital-hospital, dan bertan-tan pelbagai jenis makanan, cukup untuk bekalan sebulan.

Hospital merupakan salah satu tumpuan utama kami.

Kami telah membekalkan troli, ECG, pam infusi, monitor untuk pesakit unit rawatan rapi, mesin pembius, ventilator dan monitor untuk bilik bedah, alat ganti dan juga peralatan-peralatan perubatan lain.

Islamic Relief juga telah membawa masuk tujuh buah ambulan termasuk sebuah ambulan rawatan rapi dan sebuah hospital bergerak dari sempadan Mesir.

Kami memberi 1,400 helai lampin untuk hospital kanak-kanak.

Kami juga membekalkan beribu-ribu gelen air bersih untuk pusat-pusat perlindungan dan lebih 3,000 helai selimut.

Ini hanyalah sebahagian daripada usaha-usaha yang telah kami lakukan.

Apa-apa pun, kerja sebenar baru sahaja bermula.

Baru kini kami dapat menaksir kemusnahan sebenar di Gaza, bila semua tempat boleh dilawati.

PBB menganggarkan, berbilion ringgit diperlukan untuk membina semula Gaza.

Sendirian, agensi-agensi bantuan tidak akan mampu melakukannya.

Kami perlu memenuhi keperluan semasa penduduk, menyediakan makanan, air, perlindungan, ubat-ubatan dan selimut.

Bantuan dari seluruh dunia diperlukan untuk membina semula Gaza.

Khabar gembira

Dalam kesibukan mengumpul dana untuk Gaza, Projek Perpustakaan Rumah Anak Yatim Islamic Relief mendapat khabar gembira; sebuah yayasan akan menaja perpustakaan di Rumah Anak Yatim Limpahan Kasih,Kg Sri Aman Puchong.

Alhamdulillah!

Bergotong-royong di Masjid Al-Munawarrah

Bergotong-royong di masjid merupakan salah satu aktiviti kesukarelawanan Islamic Relief Malaysia.

Secara peribadi,saya cukup gemar mengikuti program sebegini.Ia adalah satu peluang baik untuk bertemu dan beramah mesra dengan masyarakat setempat.Dalam masa yang sama, ia memberi peluang untuk berkongsi maklumat terkini tentang program kemanusiaan Islamic Relief dengan masyarakat.

Masjid Al-Munawarrah,Seksyen 27,Shah Alam.

Beramah mesra dengan AJK Masjid

Nasrun,sukarelawan Islamic Relief dan ahli kariah masjid sedang mengecat.

Teh tarik!

"Orang muda".Mengingatkan saya kepada kenangan bergotong-royong membersihkan Masjid Penjom semasa alam kanak-kanak.

Membersihkan tempat wuduk.

Saya dan Tuan Haji ini (saya tidak sempat bertanyakan namanya) bersama-sama membersihkan bilik jenazah. Saya banyak belajar tentang pengurusan jenazah daripada beliau. Dan juga melalui beliau, saya tahu banyak mengetahui tentang pengurusan rumah api (lighthouse). Beliau bertugas di Jabatan Laut.

Pameran Dana Kemanusiaan Palestin Utusan-Islamic Relief semasa gotong-royong.

Foto-foto oleh: Norsalina
(Boleh hubungi beliau untuk khidmat jurugambar.Tapi tolong 'quote' nama saya untuk tujuan 'claim' komisyen....hehehe!)

Own diary

Delivering food items and hygiene kits to the displaced families in Gaza
(Pix: Courtesy of Islamic Relief Worldwide)

Tonight is the only night so far, since the past few days, I could have for myself.

It has been day and night telling people on our humanitarian efforts in Gaza.

I wish I could give this peaceful night of mine to my colleagues in Gaza who have braved day and night to deliver aid and bring comforts to the people of Gaza since 27 December.

Browsing the photos of them daily; packing and delivering aid to the beneficiaries, I could not help but reflecting on the speech by Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic", delivered at Sorbonne,in April 23,1910;

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Islamic Relief aid worker's diary in Gaza: Part 17

Delivering blankets to the homeless families in Gaza
(Pix: courtesy of Islamic Relief Worldwide)

In the 17th instalment of his diary, he describes trying to get urgent food supplies to people in need, while his own family are still sheltering from the violence in their home.

GAZA: 16 January

In the last hour, I have heard that 15 people have been killed and many more injured. Seven were killed when a missile hit a tent where people had gathered to mourn some victims of the attacks.

We are hearing that a ceasefire is coming, but the killing continues.

My sister and her family live a few hundred metres from the family home and yesterday she managed to get to our house with the children just before dusk - 14 members of the family stayed in two rooms.

We tried to find the safest rooms to stay in, away from the main road.

We don't have electricity so we had to make do with candles. I spent the night focusing on the candle flame, willing the night to pass as quickly as possible, and worrying that the tanks might reach our neighbourhood, as they were the closest they have been in the past 21 days of the attacks on Gaza.

My mind kept racing through the night, thinking about where I would take the family if the tanks entered our street. Where would we take shelter?

As I stared at the candle flame I realised that there was no point in asking myself these questions as there was nowhere for us to go.

"At night my children become hungry - one meal a day is not enough for them"

Asmaa, Gaza mother

Hundreds of families have fled the neighbourhood surrounding our home trying to find a place to shelter away from the shelling and bombing.

The sound of warplanes and shells and missiles have been haunting people for 21 long days and nights.

My 11-year-old niece, like many children in Gaza, is trying to be brave.

She told me that she wasn't scared by what was happening but when I asked her how she felt when she heard the sounds of war she told me she felt cold and the sounds made her tremble.

One meal

Today I was able to leave the house for a few hours and join Islamic Relief's emergency team to distribute 1,700 food parcels to exhausted and desperate people taking refuge in 12 shelters in Gaza City.

The number of homeless people keeps rising - many homes have been destroyed and those whose homes haven't been destroyed don't feel safe in them.

Thousands of civilians have fled the area where the attacks are taking place fearing for their lives, although many were reported to be still trapped in their homes or other shelters.

We also distributed 1,600 bread packs and 1,500 food parcels to displaced people in shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis.

The food parcels contain enough tins of fish, meat and vegetables to feed a family of eight for three weeks.

While distributing the food aid I met a young mother-of-five who told me that she was only able to provide her family with one meal a day since the attacks on Gaza started.

Asmaa looked exhausted but pleased when she received the food parcel.

"At night my children become hungry - one meal a day is not enough for them and they have to wait until the next day to eat some food," she said.

"I feel relieved that I have this food - it's very painful for me to know that my children are hungry."

Islamic Relief Aid worker's Diary in Gaza: Part 16

"When I meet people I find that they have almost become indifferent to
death, as we know death is not far away"

Hatem Shurrab,Islamic Relief staff in Gaza

Aid worker diary: Part 16

In the 16th instalment of his diary, 15 January, he tells how he and his family are trapped in their home as fighting rages around them.

GAZA: 15 January


I am stuck in my house. Things are very difficult today as tanks are in the area next to where I live and where my colleagues have family.

My colleague is writing my words down as I am unable to get to the office and use my computer.
Many people have left the area and are moving in with relatives deeper in Gaza City.

When I look out of the window I can see people leaving with small bags - many of those leaving are with their families. There are many women and children.

I hear a loud explosion a few metres away. The shelling is becoming more intense and rockets are also falling.

I can see smoke from a building that is behind my house.

The Unrwa (UN relief agency) building is close by and my colleague has told me that it has been hit.

Shelling is going on. Explosions are shaking the house. My family are gathered in one room and we make sure everyone is OK and the house is OK.

My mother shouts out to make sure we are all with her in the room.

My sisters-in-law are with us and the children, and we crouch down in case glass from the windows shatters and hits us. I can hear the neighbour's children crying and shouting.

My sister called earlier and said she will try to make it to our home. She has three young daughters and a son but we don't think she will make it as it is not safe to travel.

Some family friends are now on their way to a UN shelter. They wanted to stay with us but it was simply too dangerous for them to make their way here.

Thick black smoke is getting thicker and blocking the sun. The fighting is coming closer to our homes and the soldiers are now in urban areas. What scares me is that our homes could come under attack and there will be more death and destruction.

When I meet people I find that they have almost become indifferent to death, as we know death is not far away.

I was supposed to be out distributing aid to hospitals around Gaza with Islamic Relief's emergency relief team.

Yesterday we managed to deliver hospital trolleys, heart machines and first aid equipment including bandages, disposable gloves and syringes to five hospitals around Gaza.

We were supposed to deliver more aid today but our work has been suspended due to the intensity of the attacks in the centre of Gaza.

Aid is entering Gaza through Israel and Egypt but people can't collect the food and medicine as it is not safe for them to leave their homes.

A few days ago Islamic Relief was able to receive 20 ambulances through the Rafah border which will be donated to the main Shifa hospital and other smaller hospitals.

Hopes dashed

Today is the 20th day of the attack. Every day we hope that this will be the last day but the attacks go on and people feel depressed and scared.

Gazans feel that this won't end any time soon. When I meet people I find that they have almost become indifferent to death, as we know death is not far away.

In the past 20 days more than 1,000 people have been killed, many of them women and children. Death has come close to the average Gazan.

My colleague is asking me how I am coping with the situation and how I overcome my fear.
I take a deep breath and try to explain as best I can.

During the day when I am out working with the Islamic Relief team I stay strong and never show exhaustion or fear.

I am there to help people who in many cases have nothing.

When I get home I try to stay strong for my family especially my nieces and nephews who are very young and frightened.

At night when I read the evening prayer I can't control myself and I cry and cry all night.
In the morning I leap up and force myself to shake off the despair and hurt and get ready to go out and try to help the people of Gaza.

Islamic Relief Aid Worker's Diary in Gaza: Part 15

Food parcel sent by Islamic Relief to displaced families

(Pix courtesy of Islamic Relief Worldwide)

In the 15th instalment of his diary, 13 January, Br.Hatem Shurrab says a water shortage is adding to people's suffering across the Gaza Strip.


GAZA: 13 January

The water situation in Gaza is dire. Those people who are lucky enough to have any water in their storage tanks are trying to save as much as possible. Many people have had their tanks destroyed by the bombing and shooting.

Most homes in Rafah, Khan Younis and in the middle and northern areas of Gaza have almost no water or electricity. Eighty per cent of people in Gaza are dependent on international aid. Most Gazans can't afford to buy water.

Only today my colleague, Diya Skaik, returned to his home which he was forced to leave 10 days ago due to the intensive bombing.

"The water tank which is the only source of water for my small family is crushed," he told me.

"I went to the roof and just had a glance. I had to leave the place quickly as it is too dangerous to be there."

A few months ago my father had a feeling something awful might happen in Gaza and bought a larger water tank.

We are very much aware that Gaza will need long-term help from the outside world to rebuild the devastated infrastructure.

However, the water that we have is almost finished. This is despite the fact that we have cut our usage down to the bare minimum. I know my father is concerned about our limited supply, even though he doesn't talk about it.

The water shortage in Gaza is causing health and environmental problems.

Only a few months ago Islamic Relief provided Gaza's main water pump station with spare parts. The system is old and in need of repair and was already feeling the strain during the siege of the past 18 months.

Today we provided eight shelters in Gaza with drinking water for the many hundreds of people who have been displaced by the bombing. Many of the shelters are overcrowded and have no access to clean water. We provided each person with 20 litres.

No doubt, after the fighting is over, we are going to see vast amounts of damage to houses and the water tanks on the roofs.

As an aid worker I am focused on coping with the here and now but like everybody in Gaza I am waiting and praying for a ceasefire so we can try to rebuild our lives.

Right now our aid team is reacting to what is happening around us.

However, we are very much aware that Gaza will need long-term help from the outside world to rebuild the devastated infrastructure.

It will take the people of Gaza even longer to heal from the physical and psychological damage of this war.

To donate: Call us at 03-8948 6334 or log on to www.irm.org.my for updates.

Islamic Relief aid worker's Diary in Gaza: Part 14

Aid worker diary: Part 14

Hatem Shurrab wrote again.

In the 14th instalment of his diary, 12 January, he says he is too busy to reflect on the loss of good friends in attacks on Gaza.


GAZA: 12 January

I haven't been able to write my diary for 48 hours - I've simply not had time and have been busy working with colleagues to prepare thousands of food parcels for desperate people.

We have to finish distributing aid before it gets dark and make sure that we are back home, as there is no electricity and families and loved ones worry if we are out on the streets. The bombardment intensifies at night and so it's not wise to be out then.

Lost friends

I sometimes wonder if there will be enough space to bury the dead. Yesterday a friend of mine was killed in his home. He was a journalist and worked for a radio station.

Since the attacks started on Gaza I have lost good friends - and if you ask me how I feel about it - well, I can't really say as I'm trying to block it out so I can focus on my work.

I feel exhausted - as does everyone around me - but as an aid worker I have no choice but to keep going


I'm one of the lucky ones, as I can keep busy with my work and focus my energy on trying to assist people - this is one of the things that is keeping me going.

My manager's home was exposed to heavy gunfire - he lives close to the borders of Gaza City - and the bullets hit the room his children sleep in.

Crowded hospitals

I decided today to try and speak to people on the streets around the office to find out more about their situation, but it's hard to find people and when you do everyone is in a rush to visit a relative or friend and pay their condolences to families who have lost loved ones.

The shops are closed, the most crowded areas are near hospitals. I met a few people in the streets but many more are in shelters in school buildings, which are now housing hundreds of frightened people who have fled their homes hoping they will be safer in these buildings.

The "hidden" homeless are staying with their extended family members. Hundreds of families have moved in with relatives and for Gazans this is adding further pressure on them to take care of their extended families.

Islamic Relief has received many phone calls from people asking for blankets and food - they need to keep warm and to feed their families. We are now distributing aid to these families alongside people who are living in shelters.

More aid is arriving in Gaza through Israel's borders and my logistics colleagues work out how to get the aid loaded on to trucks and out to the hospitals and shelters.

I feel exhausted - as does everyone around me - but as an aid worker I have no choice but to keep going.

To donate via Dana Kemanusiaan Palestin (DAKAP) Utusan - Islamic Relief:

Call us 03-8948 6334 or log on to www.irm.org.my

Orphanage Library Project: Updates

Article: The STAR, 10 Jan 2009

Thousand apologies for the delay in updating the orphanage library project's fundraising progress.We are quite busy with raising funds for Gaza at the moment.

Anyway,to date, we have manage to raise about RM6000 from public and friends.It should be enough to set up one library for now.Earlier plans to go for two libraries maybe have to rescale down.

I hope the article in The STAR today would encourage more people to help although the focus now is on Gaza.Personally, I am OK with the fund raised so far. The priority is quite clear for everybody.Help the desperate ones first.

As for library project, I always remember the words by Jeannie Lindheim, the founder of Heart and Noses Clown Troupe in Boston,when she talks about hospital clowning work,

"one clown at a time"

Perhaps in this case,the tagline is going to be,

"one library at a time"

Still, it is not to late to chip in as we are going to install the library in early February 2009.To donate towards orphanage library project, do log on to: http://www.irm.org.my/ or call me (Iskandar) at 03-8948 6334.

Should you have any queries either on library project or Gaza do drop me a line at : iskandar@irm.org.my.

DAKAP Updates

The Star, 10 Jan 2009

Utusan Malaysia,10 Jan 2009

To donate: www.irm.org.my or call us at 03-8948 6334

Islamic Relief's actions as of 8th January 2009

Pix: Islamic Relief staff delivering blankets to a displaced family in Gaza

08 January 2009

• 1,000 hygiene packs distributed to UN Schools for families taking shelter
• 1,500 emergency food packs distributed to families
• Coordination with other aid agencies on the ground to ensure effectiveness

07 January 2009

• Islamic Relief delivered 3 ambulances and an ICU unit through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt
• Blankets distributed to hospitals in Khan Younis
• 1,000 hygiene packs have been purchased for schools distribution
• 10 trucks carrying powder milk are currently queuing to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing

To donate:

Dana Kemanusiaan Palestin (DAKAP) Utusan - Islamic Relief

Maybank: 5621 4270 8704

CIMB : 1259 0000 8040 58

Maybank2u.com: Via Online Bill Payment/One-off payment/Zakat & Charity

Cheque/MO/PO: Payable to "Islamic Relief Malaysia" and send/fax the cheque/bankslip to:

• Islamic Relief Malaysia, 31-7, Jalan SP2/1, Taman Serdang Perdana, 43300 Seri Kembangan,Selangor. Fax No: 03-8948 7339.

Donate online via our website: www.irm.org.my

Call us: 03-8948 6334 or 019-3973558 (Mr.Farouq)

Dana Kemanusiaan Palestin (DAKAP)

Alhamdulillah.

Call us at 03-8948 6334 or log on to www.irm.org.my

Heartbreaking

It is heartbreaking to read what my colleague in Gaza has wrote here:

GAZA: 6 January

I'm absolutely exhausted. Despite the bombing last night I managed to get some sleep - I don't know how - I think my body just had enough.

Families have sheltered in schools

An Islamic Relief aid team went out and visited one of the UN schools that has been turned into a shelter for families displaced by the bombing. What I saw was heartbreaking.

Before me were families who have had their homes destroyed and have lost everything. Gaza is a very poor place and many people didn't have much before the bombing started. Many more are left with even less now.

The people I met told me that they had found themselves in the firing line and had no choice but to leave their homes.

I met a mother who was burning paper in order to boil water for her child. She was doing this because she had no milk - maybe she could fool her hungry baby with the warm water?

I was surprised at the amount of women and children I saw in the school - and worried too.

Suffering

People are exhausted, traumatised and they are surviving on a limited amount of food - there simply isn't enough.

I found it very hard to see people suffering like this, especially the children.

At Islamic Relief we have decided that we have no choice but to deliver food to people - no matter what the dangers, and there are plenty of dangers in Gaza. As aid workers we can not stand by and watch as people suffer - they have nothing and we have to do something to help them.

There are around 500 people sheltering in the school and we are also preparing to provide people with hygiene kits, which contain simple things like soap which are important in preventing the spread of disease.

Seeing women and children living in these kind of conditions is unbearable. Many of the children had walked long distances to reach the schools. Their parents had thought they would be safe here.

The children are tired and hungry and do not know why they have been made to leave their homes and live in classrooms, like most Gazans they are cold and hungry and bewildered by the events of the past 11 days.

To donate,please visit: www.irm.org.my

Gaza Emergency Appeal: Islamic Relief's actions as of 6th January 2009

5th January 2009

Islamic Relief is continuing to work in Gaza following the Israeli ground operations, despite the increasingly difficult security situation.

Emergency food supplies for 5000 families has been purchased and packed, ready for distribution.

Emergency food supplies has been purchased for Gaza’s smaller hospitals.

2nd January 2009

Islamic Relief reached its initial fundraising target of $3 Million. However, due to the ongoing crisis and severe need of further funds, the Gaza Crisis Appeal has been raised to $10 Million.

Four trucks of food aid has been delivered to the main Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. The food aid included flour, rice, beans, tinned meat and fish.

$270,000 worth of medical equipment has been purchased in West Bank and will be delivered to Gaza through the World Health Organisation’s coordination.

1st January 2009

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have been given permission to access Gaza on behalf of aid agencies, therefore Islamic Relief will be able to transport aid into Gaza with the WHO.

Today, 1000 additional blankets have been distributed to hospitals. Locally, food is available but to expensive for many to buy. We buy the food and distribute it in emergency food packs.

31 December 2008

Islamic Relief’s Emergency Response:

• Islamic Relief has confirmed that the passage of relief items through the Egyptian border to Gaza has been approved. Some relief items have already entered into Gaza through this route.
• Five trucks of medical supplies have been delivered to Gaza’s main Al Shifa hospital.
• The following medical tools have been delivered to the hospitals:Laporatomy sponges, Gauzes, VICRYL, Hypodermic needles, Splint Kramers, Latex sterille surgical gloves, Endotracheal Tubes oral and Bandage plaster of paris with quantities and various sizes.
• Islamic Relief hosted a coordination meeting with the World Health Organisation and all other NGO’s operating in Gaza to ensure effective response to the crisis.

Islamic Relief’s needs assessment team in coordination with the Gaza Ministry of Health have prepared the following list of the urgent medical tools and equipments needed.

• 1 mobile X-ray machine
• Maintenance of the existing 5 sterilization machines.
• 5 new central sterilization machines.
• 500 oxygen cylinders ICU beds, Fully equipped
• 5 Anethesthesia machines
• 100 syringe pumps
• 100 Infusion pumps
• 5 Operations tables with their lights for opening new operation rooms
• 10 Blood Gas machine with its converter
• 30 normal beds
• 5 Intensive Care ambulances
• Normal ambulances (where 40 % of existing are depreciated)
• More generators for the hospitals (KVA 200, KVA100, KVA 50, KVA 600)
• 5 Washing machines for clothes and other drying machines for Gaza Strip ICUs

The costs of some of the above items are:

• Emergency First Aid Kit £150
• Family Food Parcel £50
• Water Sterilization & Hygiene Kit £20
• Temporary Shelter £350
• Hospital Bed £1,000
• Baby Incubator £8,500
• Ambulance £28,000
• ICU Ambulance £50,000

Islamic Relief has launched an emergency appeal to raise £2 million to purchase urgent medical supplies and humanitarian aid to assist civilians in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

Hundreds have been killed and injured following a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israeli fighter jets.

Aid workers report a scene of desperation in Gaza :

“This is the worst situation I have ever seen in Gaza. I visited a hospital and there were bodies outside and people crying. Buildings are totally destroyed. It’s really horrific. We are working now to get aid to the hospitals”

said Hatem Shurrab, Islamic Relief staff in Gaza .

Islamic Relief is one of the largest aid agencies working on the ground in Gaza and has begun distributing emergency medical supplies and equipment, as the immediate needs include medical disposables and first aid kits.

To donate please visit: http://www.irm.org.my/

Credit: photos and infos is extracted from here.

helping hands

It is heartening to see the faces of Canadian volunteers who are currently working hard to raise funds for Gaza.You can also access the diary of Islamic Relief staff in Gaza here.