Friends of Aladdin Madi

I'm an archaeologist who has worked in Jordan for over 30 years, and I can say that much of my success has been facilitated by having local support staff who allow me, and my team, to do our work. Without a doubt the person most responsible for our fieldwork success over the last 25 years has been our Camp Manager, Aladdin Madi. Every time we do fieldwork Ala puts our camp together, makes sure we are fed and looks after all of our in-field needs. We owe a great deal of gratitude to Ala.

 

The last two years have been difficult, as we, like so many other archaeological teams who have relied upon Aladdin have been unable to do our research. As a result this means that Aladdin has had severely limited work opportunities with us, and like so many other people Ala has not had sufficient funds for day-to-day living. For individuals like Ala this is even worse, since Ala has diabetes and requires medication and testing equipment, the attention of his doctor and of course periodic blood tests. Due to the fact that Jordan has a Western style for profit medical system, and very limited government assistance is available for most Jordanians, this puts Ala in a very dangerous and difficult position.

 

While I have tried to assist with these costs over the course of the pandemic there is a limit to what one person can do, so I am reaching out to the many staff and students who have benefited from Ala's care and attention in the hope of meeting our goal to keep Ala's medical needs covered in the coming year.

 

If you can help, please do. Ala is one of the most selfless individuals I have ever met, and always puts the needs of others ahead of his own. I would like to think that we can turn this around and put him at the top of our thoughts, prayers and giving.