Dr. Dina and Dr. Mamdouh Afana need your help to provide for their baby and Dina's ailing siblings to continue offering *free dental services* to displaced Gazans

My name is Julianne Adams. Over the last few months, I have come to know Dina Afana. Our relationship is unlike one either of us has ever had, and hopefully formed in a way that will never happen again. Nonetheless, I am grateful to have met Dina. Her generosity and her love for her family are deeply admirable. I hope you consider extending your generosity to Dina in this unimaginably difficult time. (I have created a separate campaign for Dina from the one I originally created for her family and her brother-in-law’s due to the two family’s different needs. Please support Momen, who suffered serious spinal injuries, here.)

Together we can build a safer home and keep the dental tent stocked

Dental tent fund – $10,000

Basic needs fund – $20,000

Evacuation fund – $70,000

DINA’S PAST

A year ago, Dina’s life was full. She was working as a dentist and had recently marked her first year of marriage with Mamdouh, who was also a dentist. Dina was newly pregnant with her and Mamdouh’s first child and the couple were happily preparing their home in Gaza City. Their home was in a small building where Mamdouh’s family lived–a common arrangement in their area. Dina and Mamdouh’s baby would grow up alongside Mamdouh’s parents and Mamdouh’s siblings and their families. But now, most of this family is dead and their shared home is rubble.

DINA’S PRESENT

In November, 13 family members died in a bombing that Dina survived while six months pregnant, along with Mamdouh and one of Mamdouh’s older brothers. Parents, brothers, sister, spouses-in-law, and nephews were killed.

Dina gave birth three months later to Adam while in a tent. Adam has struggled to survive let alone thrive in his polluted environments. He has been hospitalized for gastroenteritis so severe that he had become limp and was not eating.

Two of Dina’s younger siblings have thalassemia, a chronic genetic blood disorder for which they have not received sufficient treatment. Thalassemia means that Basant (9) and Mohammed (20) have less hemoglobin and consequently have chronic anemia due to their bodies’ inability to carry enough oxygen in their blood. Normal hemoglobin levels are around 9-10; Basant and Mohammed’s have fallen to 4.

Constantly weak, exhausted, and out of breath: this is how Basant and Mohammed feel as a result of their treatable condition. The siblings require routine blood transfusions, which are increasingly difficult to come by. A longer-term solution would be a bone marrow transplant.

For some time, Dina has expressed grave concern for her siblings and wanted to provide for them. Dina and Mamdouh had previously been displaced together with Mamdouh’s older surviving brother, Momen, and Momen’s wife and daughters. For that reason, we had been raising funds through a shared campaign. Because the brothers are now apart, and Dina cannot help but care for her siblings, we have started this campaign.

Monetary Goal Further Explained

Dental tent fund – $10,000

-- Malnutrition, poor hygiene, and lack of services have left many people in need of dental care, from toothpaste to tooth extraction. For months, Mamdouh and Dina have provided such care.

-- The scarcity of supplies means that such items are costly.

-- In order to provide these dental services and because she is separated from most of her family, Dina leaves Adam under the care of another displaced woman. Dina is kindly paying this woman, while asking for no money for dental labor.

Basic needs fund – $20,000

-- Prices have skyrocketed. Cooking gas that once cost $20 now costs $100. Dina estimates that daily necessities cost $200. Dina and Mamdouh are currently draining their evacuation fund for these items.

-- $200 does not account for the money Dina hopes to use for her siblings’ medical needs.

-- Every time any family is displaced, it costs upwards of $500 for transportation and re-building.

-- Warfare has resulted in terrible living conditions. Cramped spaces with no infrastructure has created polluted and disease-ridden environments. Adam has had severe diarrhea repeatedly. Basant has repeatedly gotten a rash. Medicine is costly.

Evacuation fund – $70,000

-- Previously, Hala travel agency was charging $5,000 per adult and $2,500 per child, with additional fees of a few hundred dollars. We had raised nearly enough funds to evacuate Dina, Mamdouh, and Adam ($12,500+) but these funds have been going towards immediate needs and it is likely that, if a border opens, costs will be higher.

-- Evacuating Basant and Muhammed would cost an additional $7,500+, and their healthcare costs will be much more. Each will require treatments costing over $10,000.

-- Then come the costs of living abroad with no immediate income, which could cost $20,000 for a year based on the expenses recent evacuees have faced.