Please help Alfa save his daughter’s life

Ismail "Alfa" Abdulrahim, a journalist who lives in northeast Nigeria, has spent the last ten years covering the Boko Haram insurgency in one of the world’s toughest conflict zones: His own backyard.

Alfa also devotes much of his time to keeping his American colleagues safe. He is known for his big grin and special talent for calming nerves (often with surprise gas station donuts). He never complains or asks for help. So it especially alarmed his friends in West Africa when he revealed that his beloved daughter was very, very ill. 

Halima, 21, fell sick in August and was diagnosed with renal disease, a condition that gradually destroys kidney function. By late October, doctors told the family that her kidneys were failing. 

She was admitted to the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre in Abuja — a facility about 520 miles southwest of her home — where she is now undergoing daily dialysis. But in order to recover, she needs a kidney transplant. 

The family has been told the cost of the operation is 10 million Naira, or around $28,000. They have $10,000 in savings, though it is quickly being drained by the cost of dialysis, travel and other medical bills.

We hope to help raise these funds for Alfa, who does so much grueling — and often thankless — work for the greater good.

Halima in healthier days:

Logistics: I will collect disbursements from this GoFundMe and will transfer the directly to Alfa’s account. From there, Alfa will use the money to spend at the hospital or kidney center where Halima receives her transplant.