Sep 13, 2011 (PRN): On 11th September four children from the Gaza Strip arrived in Dubai for life-changing medical treatment, thanks to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

Three are victims of bomb attacks on Gaza, whilst the fourth was born with congenital glaucoma. Lana received a corneal transplant which failed, rendering her left eye without vision. Only two years old and from Gaza, Lana has been fast tracked to hospital in Dubai for surgery that could prevent her from a life of total blindness.

All four arrived on the 11th of September from their homes in Gaza via the Rafah crossing to Cairo by land, a six hour journey. They have boarded a flight from Cairo to the UAE. The surgeries are not available in Gaza so this long journey to Dubai is their only hope of help.

GUNSHOT WOUNDS

One of the children Hasan, a fourteen year old boy who suffered terrible leg injuries during the last war in Gaza whilst he was at school. He suffered severe gun shot wounds to his right leg, leaving it 4cm shorter than his left leg. Ground breaking techniques to elongate his right leg – an operation that offers him the hope of one day being able to play football again – his favorite hobby.

GROUNDBREAKING SURGERY

Two eleven year old children will both receive highly specialist surgeries. Oday, had his right leg amputated after being caught up in an explosion in September 2004. Despite having previously received an artificial limb, his left leg remains badly deformed and he requires extensive „osteotomy‟ surgery to rebuild the bones in his leg. He cannot currently walk but this surgery could potentially allow him to walk again.

Bisan will have plastic reconstructive surgery, the procedure will address the burn and scar tissue that resulted from an explosive injury almost three years ago.

OFFERING HOPE

Steve Sosebee, president and CEO of PCRF comments that, “The kind of surgery offered to eleven year old Besan is typical of the kind of work we carry out. It is highly specialized and simply not available in Palestine.” Besan was badly injured in an explosion in the Gaza Strip, suffering horrific injuries. Thanks to a specialist surgeon at Emirates Hospital she will receive life changing surgery to help re-build the muscle tissue. “This is the sort of work that is offering hope to hundreds of children year in, year out.” Sosebee has seen the PCRF grow to become one of the most effective, highly accredited non-profit organizations working in the Middle East today. He comments that, “Using a modest yearly budget, the PCRF has been able to provide millions of dollars worth of specialized treatment and care for thousands of sick and injured children in need each year.”

This particular trip involves the hard work of between 20-25 people, including social workers that locate the patients and the medical coordinators that seek and secure free treatment. There are also teams of patient affairs volunteers who seek and locate host families and a network of logistics volunteers that seek and locate visas and arrange travel. Each patient has a team of twenty working on his case prior to arrival. Upon arrival a support group of at least 3 people per patient that takes care of their transport and daily affairs.

About The Palestine Children's Relief Fund

The Palestine Children's Relief Fund is a registered non-political, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization that was established in 1991 by concerned people in the U.S. to address the medical and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian youths in the Middle East. It has since expanded to help suffering children from other Middle Eastern nations like Iraq, based only on their medical needs. The P.C.R.F. helps to locate free medical care for children from the Middle East who are unable to get the necessary and specialized treatment in their homeland.

The main objective of the P.C.R.F. is to identify and treat every child in the Middle East in need of specialized surgery not available to them locally. We locate, sponsor and run volunteer medical missions to the Middle East in adult and pediatric cardiac surgery, pediatric cardiology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, maxillofacial surgery, pediatric urology, ophthalmology, vascular surgery, pediatric orthopedic surgery, occupational therapy, and other specialties. We also locate abroad free medical care for children who cannot be adequately treated in the Middle East. The P.C.R.F. is the main organization regularly sending injured and sick Arab children to North America, the Middle East and Europe for free care that is not available to them there. Since 1991 over 800 children have been or currently are being treated outside of the Middle East through the P.C.R.F. [Wired by: PressReleaseNetwork.com]

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.