Hi, my name is Ann-Sofie Hatmi, based out of Sweden in the northern expanses of Europe. I'm a longstanding friend to the family in Gaza that this GoFundMe supports.

Ahmed's Medical Crisis:

The father in the family, Ahmed al Qhwajy, has a long history of problems with his stomach and intestines. They grew stronger over time until they bothered him to the extent that he sought help from specialists at the Nasser hospital, requesting an evaluation. 45 days before the current war in the region broke out, he had extensive endoscopic surgery done, as a start to rectify this.

After the surgery the specialist instructed Ahmed that it was imperative to keep and come to his follow-up appointments for after care and that the results of the biopsies taken during surgery would be reported back to him and also determine what additional treatments were necessary after this initial exploratory surgery.

The War's Impact:

It is now more than eight months since that day and as a result of the war still going on and the effect it has had on life in general in Gaza, Ahmed has had no follow-up appointments, no after care and no report back on what the biopsies showed. His entire mid-section burns with pain, day in and out, crippling him to the point where it is hard to even perform normal daily activities.

It is very likely that Ahmed's specialist at Nasser hospital has succumbed to one of the many attacks aimed at goals in Gaza since seven months back, and it is also likely that any pathology records holding the results from his biopsies have been destroyed along with much of the infrastructure in the region. This weighs on Ahmed's mind, as the insecurity of not knowing what they may have shown comes back over and over.

The endoscope pictures shown in the fundraiser document the state of Ahmed's intestines as the surgery was perfomed, and are photographed from print-outs given to him after the procedure was done. To date these print-outs with the doctor's notes are the only known remaining trace of what was done and found.

This fundraiser has been started to help Ahmed into Egypt to see specialists for the long over-due follow-ups, to see if they can help unravel what biopsies were taken and for what purpose, and secondary only to relieve him of the current pain, to find out what needs to be done in addition to the endoscopic surgeries he has already undergone.

But, as important as the trip to Egypt, is to raise funds to allow Ahmed entrance back into Gaza. He is leaving his wife and three children behind as he goes away and the tug on the heart from not seeing each other and sharing day-to-day life will be hard on both sides.

Below is the photos of the two children of Ahmad. Meet Juri, Ahmed's daughter, who almost lost her life due to the lack of medical supplies. Your donation can help prevent more tragedies.

The family has for now taken up temporary residence in a tent for displaced Palestinians, near Rafah, with strong hopes to return to their original residence in Khan Yunis when cease fire and peace comes. It is as important to Ahmed to return to them so they together can build up what has been lost and destroyed, as it is finding relief to the pain and worries eating him up from the inside.

The amount collected from this fundraiser SEK 200,000/€ 20,000 will be used for:

While this may seem like a high amount for the above it should be taken into account that travel and transit has increased several fold due to the ongoing war in the region and will likely increase even more until Ahmed finally can travel.

Also, even though the medical expenses that can be estimated for now are moderate (initial doctor visits and replacing the missed follow-up appointments), a buffer for additional medical costs is absolutely necessary. To do things differently would both prolong Ahmed's suffering and either increase housing/living costs while waiting in Egypt, or add additional cost with returning to Gaza and then repeat the journey once the appropriate funds have been collected.

On behalf of Ahmed and his family, many thanks in advance for your generosity and good will to lend a helping hand. No amount donated is too small as they all add up to something bigger that in the end will help. If you are unable to donate at this time, spreading word of the fundraiser through social media, friends and family, church/masjid/synagogue and similar congregations, is just as appreciated.

see below some additional photos of the destroyed homeof this family