Relieving Ayham's Pain
Donation protected
Ayham's story
Ayham is a quiet Syrian boy whose family fled their home country. They now live in a tent in the Rahma refugee camp in the Beqaa valley in Lebanon.
I am currently working in Lebanon as a coding instructor. Recently, I visited Rahma with a few friends. We met Ayham's family there. They asked for us to help them. (We met Ayham on the same day we met Hisham, whose story is on another GoFundMe page).
Ayam had trouble making even small movements with his arms and feet. But he did give a few great smiles. His father explained he has a disease where his body is attacking his own cells, his muscles are deteriorating and doctors give him until till about eighteen years-old to live. I think they said he is now sixteen.
The thought of it — two years and that’s it. And here he was shyly smiling at a visitor sitting next to him, who mistook the Minions backpack on the ground for Spongebob. Reflecting now, I wonder, when this family counts all they have lost, how do they bear the thought of adding him to the list two years hence? And reflecting then, sitting crossed-legged on the floor, I wondered what can we do for them given this diagnosis? I soon had an answer to that question.
The father continued explaining. He said Ayham experiences a lot of pain, you see, because of his disease. Yes it does sound painful to have your body to attack your cells. Just to see the way Ayham sits with muscles contracted in odd positions looks painful. And apparently it is at least as painful, and more probably, than it looks. But there is medicine that can help.
His father told us there are a set of needles that can make the pain really be ignored, really make it okay. These needles cost $200/month. The difficult part about that is, the father brings in $200/month for the family. If they buy the medicines, they would not afford their basic foods and other needs. And so, in the twilight of his young life, they cannot afford the relief of Ayham’s pain.
After explaining Ayham’s situation, his parents introduced us to another son. They wanted him to sing to us. So kneeling on the rug, this humble boy sang a religious tune, verses from their holy book:
After the song, the parents showed us a medal that this son had won. It hung on the corrugated metal wall. I'm our friend Norhan captured this beautiful moment on video.
You can read more about the story of how we met Ayham in this article: Mercy in the Beqaa
Our plan
My coworkers and one of our students decided to do something to help with the need we saw in the Rahma camp.
The $1,200 raised will be used to pay for six months-worth of medicine to relieve Ayham's pain.
While we are raising money, we plan to reach out to local medical professionals and/or the Syrian American Medical Society to consult on the best way of confirming the prescription, identifying where to purchase the medicine, and delivering it.
Also, we plan to document the use of the money and provide updates in a transparent manner. We hope to show you a photo of a smiling Ayham in less pain once he receives the medicine!
About Us
Here's a little about us, to give you some more information about who's behind this project. I work with Jacob Evans and Ben Schinn in Beirut, Lebanon. All three of us teach coding (specifically web development) with V School. Over half of our students are refugees themselves. We found out about the Rahma camp through our students who brought us there. One of them, Norhan, helped document the names of the people in need and provided the photo and video you see on this page.
We decided to see first-hand what situations face refugees in the refugee camps. There was a lot of need for help. We want to do something to help our new friends struggling through this crisis.
You can find more information about us at:
Project Jinn -- projectjinn.com
Ayham is a quiet Syrian boy whose family fled their home country. They now live in a tent in the Rahma refugee camp in the Beqaa valley in Lebanon.
I am currently working in Lebanon as a coding instructor. Recently, I visited Rahma with a few friends. We met Ayham's family there. They asked for us to help them. (We met Ayham on the same day we met Hisham, whose story is on another GoFundMe page).
Ayam had trouble making even small movements with his arms and feet. But he did give a few great smiles. His father explained he has a disease where his body is attacking his own cells, his muscles are deteriorating and doctors give him until till about eighteen years-old to live. I think they said he is now sixteen.
The thought of it — two years and that’s it. And here he was shyly smiling at a visitor sitting next to him, who mistook the Minions backpack on the ground for Spongebob. Reflecting now, I wonder, when this family counts all they have lost, how do they bear the thought of adding him to the list two years hence? And reflecting then, sitting crossed-legged on the floor, I wondered what can we do for them given this diagnosis? I soon had an answer to that question.
The father continued explaining. He said Ayham experiences a lot of pain, you see, because of his disease. Yes it does sound painful to have your body to attack your cells. Just to see the way Ayham sits with muscles contracted in odd positions looks painful. And apparently it is at least as painful, and more probably, than it looks. But there is medicine that can help.
His father told us there are a set of needles that can make the pain really be ignored, really make it okay. These needles cost $200/month. The difficult part about that is, the father brings in $200/month for the family. If they buy the medicines, they would not afford their basic foods and other needs. And so, in the twilight of his young life, they cannot afford the relief of Ayham’s pain.
After explaining Ayham’s situation, his parents introduced us to another son. They wanted him to sing to us. So kneeling on the rug, this humble boy sang a religious tune, verses from their holy book:
After the song, the parents showed us a medal that this son had won. It hung on the corrugated metal wall. I'm our friend Norhan captured this beautiful moment on video.
You can read more about the story of how we met Ayham in this article: Mercy in the Beqaa
Our plan
My coworkers and one of our students decided to do something to help with the need we saw in the Rahma camp.
The $1,200 raised will be used to pay for six months-worth of medicine to relieve Ayham's pain.
While we are raising money, we plan to reach out to local medical professionals and/or the Syrian American Medical Society to consult on the best way of confirming the prescription, identifying where to purchase the medicine, and delivering it.
Also, we plan to document the use of the money and provide updates in a transparent manner. We hope to show you a photo of a smiling Ayham in less pain once he receives the medicine!
About Us
Here's a little about us, to give you some more information about who's behind this project. I work with Jacob Evans and Ben Schinn in Beirut, Lebanon. All three of us teach coding (specifically web development) with V School. Over half of our students are refugees themselves. We found out about the Rahma camp through our students who brought us there. One of them, Norhan, helped document the names of the people in need and provided the photo and video you see on this page.
We decided to see first-hand what situations face refugees in the refugee camps. There was a lot of need for help. We want to do something to help our new friends struggling through this crisis.
You can find more information about us at:
Project Jinn -- projectjinn.com
Organizer
Joe Hoskisson
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT
