he Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is a registered non-political, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization that was established in 1991 by concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East. It has since expanded to help suffering children from the region, based only on their medical needs. We do not discriminate based on religion, gender, nationality or sect.
The main objective of the PCRF is to identify and treat every child in the Middle East in need of specialized surgery not available to them locally. We locate, sponsor and run volunteer medical missions to the Middle East in pediatric cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, maxillofacial surgery, pediatric urology, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, pediatric orthopedic surgery, Pediatric urology and pediatric surgery as well as many other specialties. We also locate abroad free medical care for children who cannot be adequately treated in the Middle East. The PCRF is the main organization regularly sending injured and sick Arab children to North and South America, the Middle East and Europe for free care that is not available to them there. Since 1991 over 1,000 children have been abroad for millions of dollars of donated care through the PCRF.
The PCRF also helps to improve the quality of medical care in the Middle East by sending medical equipment and supplies to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as training local Palestinian medical personnel to improve the quality of care and services within the public sector.
The PCRF currently has several injured or sick Arab children in North and South America, the Middle East or Europe being treated for free. We are also working to locate free medical care for many more injured and sick children from Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Our strength is our chapters and volunteers, from San Diego to Amman, from Dubai to Chicago, who act as host families, translators and other supporters, enabling us to continue our humanitarian relief work.
A Closer Look at The PCRF
Over the past two decades plus, The PCRF has worked hard to become one of the most effective, highly accredited non-profit organizations working in the Middle East. Our strength is providing millions of dollars worth of donated specialized life-saving medical care for thousands of sick and injured children in need each year, who otherwise would not get the treatment that they needed to live better lives.
Every year, thousands of children have expert medical tests, evaluations and screenings through our visiting missions, with thousands more having surgery or treatment for free. When we have no other option, we launch campaigns to raise funds for children who need surgery locally, although this is rare and difficult to do.
We accomplish an estimated 50-1 return on donations through the value of our work by:
- Keeping our administrative costs low.
- Working with doctors and hospitals thoughout the world who are willing to donate their time and services for free.
- Recruiting volunteer medical teams to travel oversees to perform surgeries, screenings, and training at no cost.
- Locating host families who are willing to house and care for the children during their treatment abroad.
Good Practice
The PCRF continues to follow and operate under the US Treasury Anti Terrorist Financing Guidelines. In fact, The PCRF was one of the first organizations working in Palestine to be given a license by the US Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control to continue our humanitarian work there after new restrictions were put in place for all US charities following the 2006 elections.
