On August 28, a five-member team of doctors and nurses from University Hospital in Padova, Italy arrived in East Jerusalem for a week of life-saving open-heart surgery on sick babies from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund has been sponsoring pediatric cardiac surgery missions to Palestine for over 10 years and have saved the lives of thousands of children from all over...

Throughout the month of August, the PCRF has been distributing school bags for poor children before they start the fall school-year, as well as basic foodstuff for hungry children in the besieged Gaza Strip.  Hundreds of children have been provided free school bags by the PCRF this year, and thousands more over the past few years, in an effort to ensure that they can start the school year out with basic supplies....

On August 1, a two member team of general surgeons from the USA completed a week of surgery on local patients and lectures and training for the local doctors in Jenin Government Hospital in the northern West Bank.  Both Dr. James Starling from Wisconsin and Dr. Wael Otaibi from New York have volunteered in the past with the PCRF, though this was the first joint mission between the two.  In addition to screening...

On July 17, a 6-member team of doctors and nurses from Messa, Italy provided life-saving surgery for sick children from Gaza and the West Bank for the fourth time in 2010.  Led by surgeon Dr. Stefano Luisi, the team also included surgeon Dr. Giovanni Concistrè, cardiologist Dr. Luciano DeSimone, nurse Giuseppina Dolfi and medical engineer Paolo Marcheschi. Perfusion was provided by Southampton, UK specialist...

On July 8, a 7-member international team of doctors provided over 60 patients with maxillofacial injuries or deformities free care at the Salfeet Government Hospital in the West Bank. Led by surgeon Dr. Khaled Abughazaleh from Chicago, the team included surgeons Prof. Rafael Ruiz Rodriguez and Dr. Juan Carlos Lopez Noriega from Mexico, Prof. Fernando Sandoval and his son Dr. Fernando Jose Sandoval of Ecuador,...

Nine years later, the project has continued to grow with dozens of camps being sponsored each year in Palestine and expanding to the refugee camps in Lebanon. Each camp is required to have a certain number of disabled children included in each camp to help break down stereotypes that exist in Palestinian society against disabled people, starting with children as a means to ensure the next generation are more...

On July 3, a 5-member team of surgeons arrived in the besieged Gaza Strip for a week of neurosurgery and hand surgery on poor and needy patients, as well as training for local doctors at the Nasser Government Hospital in Khan Younis. This is the second mission to Gaza in 2010, as the team also worked there in January, in cooperation with the PCRF and the Consulate of France in East Jerusalem. The team was...

On July 2, Dr. Bilal Siab from North Carolina and Dr. Lena Qahwash from the Chicago area arrived in the West Bank town of Tulkarem to continue to provide high-quality pediatric dental care for children in Thabet Thabet Hospital.  Both have volunteered in the past with the PCRF and have been active in supporting the continuation of oral health and care for children under the cleft lip and palate program that...

On July 3, a 3-member team of surgeons from Switzerland entered the besieged Gaza Strip and began operating on burned children at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis.  Led by Dr. Walter Künzi, the team included OR nurse Bärbel Costabile and surgeon Dr. Abdul Rahman Jandali.  The team has volunteered several times with the PCRF in the past to help treat dozens of injured and needy children in Gaza,...

On June 25th, 3-year-old Takwa Faraj Al Salem from the Syrian village of Al-Raqah was sent with her mother Setah to Bergamo, Italy for life-saving open-heart surgery by Dr. Giancarlo Crupi.  This girl was born with a congenital heart defect that could not be treated in her country. Dr. Crupi has led several missions to Palestine over the past 10 years, providing hundreds of Palestinian children with life-saving...