The New Dark Age

12 April 2010 — MAP

NEWS

MAP at the Palestinian film festival
Medical Aid for Palestinians is pleased to announce the UK premiere of Fatenah, at the London Palestine Film Festival on 2 May.

Fatenah will be shown alongside two short films, highlighting the impact of closures on the West Bank, and the blockade of Gaza. Following the screenings, MAP will be hosting a panel including Ahmad Habash, the director of Fatenah, Mahmoud Daher from the World Health Organisation in Gaza, and Miri Weingarten of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

Gaza field update
Despite the ongoing blockade and deepening humanitarian crisis, Gaza has dropped from the headlines as news has focused on attempts to restart the moribund peace process. However everyone was reminded of the precarious state of peace when 13 Israeli airstrikes struck the territory at the start of the month.

MAP’s field office in Gaza City gave an update to the current situation:

“Most of the recent violence has been focused on the border areas of Gaza, but following a particularly intense bout of fighting (when two Palestinians and two Israelis were killed) we were expecting a heavy Israeli response”.

Interview: MAP Chairman Robin Kealy
Robin Kealy, a former career diplomat and Consul General in Jerusalem from 1997-2001, has been Chairman of Medical Aid for Palestinians since 2008.

“Our board has a huge variety of skills and experience, with surgeons, nurses, economists, journalists and diplomats all bringing their energy to MAP’s continued development. The Chairman is head of the board of trustees and works to ensure that there is a collective responsibility towards the good governance of the organisation”.

Omar’s Story
Omar is a four-year-old Palestinian boy who lives with his family in the unofficial refugee gathering of Qasmiyeh in southern Lebanon.

Omar was born with congenital deformities in his upper and lower limbs. This disability makes it very difficult for him to lead a normal life in a camp environment which is typified by narrow roads, low hanging electricity cables and crumbling infrastructure. Omar’s mother has four other children. The level of help he requires has placed a lot of pressure on her as Omar hasn’t been able play with other children and the local schools are not adapted to his mobility needs.

That is why MAP is urgently doing all we can to empower people with disabilities to improve their lives.

Neonatal Unit Launch in Gaza
Medical Aid for Palestinians is pleased to announce the inauguration of a new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Al Awda Hospital in the Gaza Strip. This neonatal ICU is one part of our Ensuring Safe Delivery in the Gaza Strip project. The neonatal ICU is housed at Al Awda Hospital, managed by our partner, the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC) and funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development(DfID).

GET INVOLVED

Sponsor MAP in the London Marathon
MAP’s Communication and Media Officer, James Denselow, is running the London Marathon for MAP in less that two-weeks time! Sponsor him today as he looks to raise over £5,000 for emergency surgical kits.

Virgin Money Giving
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Virgin Money Giving are now working together to provide you with a quicker and simpler means of fundraising for and donating to MAP’s projects in the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon. Whether you are planning on holding your own fundraising event, taking part in a MAP challenge event or would like to donate enabling MAP to continue its vital work, please take a look at our new Virgin site

Challenge Events
More and more of our committed supporters are signing up to raise money for MAP through our Mont Blanc trek and London to Paris cycle ride! To take part in one of these events, please contact Rachel via email or telephone 0207 226 4114. We would love to hear from you to provide you with more information about the events and offer fundraising advice.
rachel.ainsworth@map-uk.org

Get in touch
If you are holding a fundraising event, please call or email Rachel . We would like to support you through providing you with materials, by offering fundraising advice and advertising your event on our website, facebook page and Monitor.
rachel.ainsworth@map-uk.org

For more information on MAP’s continuing response please sign up to our E-Newsletter – The Monitor / email us at info@map-uk.org / or telephone us on 0207 226 4114