Visit August 2018

Visit August 14, 2018

Sr. Sandra went down for her third time to Gaza and Sr. Julianna went down for her first time, so we were three sisters who went for the day. Sabah meet as at the border and helped with the paper work to get one in who name wasn’t in the computer.

We went off first to visit two families in a very poor area of Gaza City, an area which was heavily shelled in the 2016 war. The first was a young mother of 7 children who had received food as the father was unemployed and there was no money for the basics like food. The home was clean and almost empty. The children are good looking children. Being off from school they were all at home. A woman organization will redo their bathroom for them as it has only a toilet and they need their kitchen redone also which is very small. The father is aggressive toward his wife and the children.

The second family of 8 were abandoned by the father. His two brothers try to support the family. One of these brothers live near and is married with one child. This family is also very poor. Again the home was clean, yet it has very few furnishings. They sit on mats on the floor which they sleep on at night.

Being it was Sr. Julianna’s first visit we showed her the little harbor and saw that one boat which was emptying its nets had caught very little fish. It is sardine season now. We also saw two cultural centers which had been destroyed recently; they were new and several stories high.

We went to our office again for the sisters to see for the first time and to drop off some clothing which we had brought with us. Then we visited Sabah’s home and saw her daughter and her two little children who are visiting for the first time in four years. They live abroad. The people are preparing for the Feast of Al Adhack the 21^st of August which lasts several days.

Visit July 2018

Visit July 2018

Lorenzo and I went down for only a day this time as it was a busy month for each of us. Both of us needed our permits renewed on the Gaza side of the boarder. The parish priest or his staff help us with this. Fr. Mario was out of the area ,so one of the staff did it for us. This meant a trip first thing to the parish.

Sabah had two families whom she wanted us to see; they each had children with disabilities. The first family had one young man of 26 years old who suffered with mental illness which kept him inside in fear that he would run away. He has his violent moments.  The home was clean and the young man was clean and laying on a mattress on the floor that was also clean. The apartment had hardly any furniture and their poverty was evident. 

The second family has five adult children and their brain damage renders walking difficult for each one. They all have mental limitations

which are visible on their faces and in their actions. The parents seem normal. One of their sons is married to a woman who seems normal and they have two young boys who seem normal. The grandparents fear that if these boys grow up with all the others who are brain damaged that they too will be effected by the others.  Sabah has sought help for them to have an apartment of their own yet has had no success so far. This house has a few more furnishings and is very clean as are all the members of the family.

The food distribution continues for the 170 families and the medical needs for 35 to 40 children and adults continues these summer months.

Politically things are up in the air and we pray for a just solution to the situation in Gaza.

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