Our contact with this family started by virtue of an Instagram DM. A mother from Gaza sent Ben a message asking for help because she was at a loss for what to do, "I went crazy for my baby... I randomly sent help messages." She conversed with Ben at great length through Google translate, sending photos of her home and her child. Unfortunately, her home was now rubble, and she had lost one of her sons.

With the help of our friends Fatima and Reem, we were able to set up a video call at around 9 pm EST (4 am in Gaza) and confirm her entire story with additional heartbreaking details. Before mentioning her home and child, she prefaced the conversation with concern for her nephew, Ahmed. Ahmed is a 3-year-old with cerebral palsy and Tetrology of Fallot, a rare condition that combines 4 different heart defects. He has had open-heart surgery in the past but is still in need of an urgent valve replacement. He is developmentally delayed, has renal abnormalities, and suffers from frequent high temperatures, infections, and pulmonary edemas.

Ahmed's family, including his 5-year-old brother, lives in a single room in Gaza. Though they require housing support, our priority is to keep Ahmed alive.

We are asking for $3000 USD for his emergency heart valve replacement surgery and $4800 USD to cover a year of post-operative care ($400 USD a month). All receipts of Western Union transfers to Ahmed's mother will be saved and shared as updates. If you can't afford to provide monetary donations we humbly ask that you please share this campaign with your network. Thank you.