FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) URGENT GAZA RELIEF
PCRF is committed to providing urgent humanitarian aid and critical medical care in Gaza. Our multi-phased approach encompasses 1) Humanitarian Aid, 2) Medical Aid, and 3) Health Care tailored to address immediate, short-term, and long-term needs.
The following information is intended to address the most frequently asked questions from our donors and other stakeholders regarding the current humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
What type of aid is currently needed?
As the current situation in Gaza continues to escalate, the humanitarian needs continue to be immense. There is a great need for medicines and medical supplies, shelter, nutritional items, water, hygiene items, and other humanitarian essentials for the thousands who have lost their homes and have been internally displaced. These individuals are in temporary shelters such as schools and, until recently, hospitals. To alleviate some of the suffering, PCRF has delivered parcels of nutritional items, water, hygiene kits, and milk for infants. We are anxiously waiting for the opening of a safe and unrestricted humanitarian corridor so that we can bring in a larger amount of aid, such as healthcare supplies and medicines.
PCRF annually treats thousands of children in need of medical care through our volunteer missions, which are now suspended. Therefore, PCRF is helping to arrange for injured and sick children to receive care abroad that they cannot get locally.
Gaza doctors and nurses are exhausted and, in many cases, unable to provide the huge number of injured people with direct medical care. Getting teams into Gaza when the situation permits is also a top priority.
What is PCRF doing with all the funds it raises, given that very little external aid is allowed into Gaza?
PCRF’s staff have been able to buy from within Gaza, nutritional items, water, hygiene kits, and medical supplies through trusted and vetted vendors. During the first week of the war, we were able to distribute over $1.7 million of much-needed humanitarian aid and continue to source any aid within the Gaza market.
We also are currently preparing medical aid shipments and other relief supplies to send into Gaza as soon as possible.
PCRF is also helping to facilitate logistic and medical treatment for sick and injured children outside of Gaza.
Is PCRF’s staff safe delivering aid inside Gaza?
The answer is NO. No one is safe in Gaza right now. Almost all PCRF staff in Gaza have been displaced from their homes and are staying in shelters or in the homes of extended families with little food, water, or electricity. Despite the very difficult and dangerous conditions, some have chosen to do everything they can to deliver aid to those in dire need. These are the true heroes. However, PCRF has partnered with international Disaster and relief workers to deliver aid.
When able, PCRF’s staff in Gaza have been able to provide direct aid and assistance on the ground, including ongoing support by our head social worker in the Dr. Musa and Suhaila Nasir Pediatric Cancer Department in Rantisi Hospital, and delivering urgent surgical supplies to the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis.
How is PCRF able to determine what items are a priority?
PCRF incorporates insights from local and international partners, particularly our experienced and specialized volunteer Medical Advisory Board members, staff under siege in Gaza, the Ministry of Health, local health cluster members, and other humanitarian organizations working on the ground.
In coordination with all these partners, our Emergency Response Team determines which needs are the most urgent, and we act quickly through our network to provide them.
How is PCRF ensuring that their efforts have maximum effect and are not duplicated?
Coordination is critical in emergency situations. PCRF is an active participant in a UN-led coordinating “cluster” as well as other NGO coalitions abroad covering areas such as health, security of nutritional items, protection, water and sanitation, and shelter to ensure that there are few gaps and overlaps in the assistance delivered by humanitarian organizations. PCRF responds appropriately in conformity with its mission and capacity.
Is PCRF able to get aid into Gaza?
With the full closure of Gaza to humanitarian aid (until the recent allowance of very little), we are actively attempting to procure nutritional items and hygiene items internally in Gaza for distribution. Although the Gaza market has been virtually depleted of available inventory, we have been able to find some items for purchase in recent days.
Our team of volunteer physicians, pharmacists, biomedical and professional procurement specialists in both Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan are currently procuring, stockpiling, storing, and shipping aid through our trusted partners, like the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which has been successful in crossing through the Rafah border to provide aid and supplies recently and in the past.
How does PCRF decide where and from whom to purchase medicine and medical supplies?
We procure and purchase from vetted, reputable pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical equipment suppliers in Palestine and neighboring countries who have a proven track record in the business community.
How can PCRF ensure that donations do not fall into the hands of Hamas?
PCRF’s policy is to administer medical care and humanitarian aid in compliance with U.S. laws. We check individuals and agencies against computerized lists of terrorist organizations cited by the U.S. Treasury Department on its Office of Foreign Assets Control list.
PCRF’s local staff vigorously evaluates our partners and vendors to ensure legal compliance.
PCRF is audited annually by independent auditors (see our most recent audit), and we follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which are standard financial guidelines for most non-governmental organizations.
In which countries does PCRF supply humanitarian aid?
PCRF’s mission statement restricts activities to the geographical area that includes Palestine, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Many children are also taken outside of the region to the U.S. and other countries for critical surgeries and medical treatment and then returned to their home countries when appropriate.
Does PCRF facilitate the adoption of Children from Palestine/Gaza?
Adoption is a very complicated process in general. It is even more complicated in Palestine and nearly impossible in Gaza. PCRF does not facilitate such a process; however, in 2014 established the Gaza Orphan Sponsorship Program in support of the hundreds of orphans in the Gaza Strip. Once the situation allows for assessments to be done, more information will be available on this program: https://www.pcrf.net/gaza-orphan-sponsorship
Does PCRF currently need volunteers in Gaza with PCRF?
Since the onset of the catastrophe in Gaza on October 7, medical volunteer missions have been halted. Please continue to follow our platforms for updates on resuming our volunteer opportunities. Thank you for your interest in supporting our mission. If you are a medical professional, please visit: https://www.pcrf.net/volunteer-medical-missions
Does PCRF need volunteers to help on the border in Egypt?
Currently, there are no volunteer opportunities in Egypt through PCRF. Please continue to check back for updates on volunteering opportunities. Thank you for your interest in supporting our mission. If you are a medical professional, please visit: https://www.pcrf.net/volunteer-medical-missions
Can medical supplies be collected for PCRF to send to Gaza?
PCRF is procuring the necessary equipment based on assessments conducted by PCRF staff and volunteers to supply the necessary demands in an efficient and cost-effective manner. We are currently not collecting medical supplies to send to Gaza as we work with vendors directly to streamline all aspects of this process, including shipping, customs clearance, and more.