Lent and
Good Friday
Appeal 2022

Your gift will change the lives of many communities living in poverty.

In a busy wing of the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza, little Manna is being weighed by Hanan, a general nurse working in the hospital’s paediatric unit. Like all too many babies in Gaza, Manna was born severely underweight. Her mother, Heba, says, “I took Manna to many doctors and nurses before, but she didn’t improve”. Now, aged seven months, Manna has made good progress since she was taken into the Ahli’s Child Nutrition Program a month ago. After four visits to the program, she’s doing well. Her weight has improved, and she’s now moved from “severely” to “moderately” underweight. Heba says, “Here at the Ahli, the nurse measured my child and gave me some advice, and now she has benefitted. I’m very happy.”

Hanan says the key success factors in helping the babies put on weight are the mother’s cooperation and being able to buy more nutritious food for the family. In Gaza, long-afflicted by sanctions and war, it can be a huge challenge for families to buy nutritious food. Many are dependent on refugee rations (some have been refugees since 1948) which are often high in calories but low in nutrition.

As well as educating the mothers in nutrition, encouraging breast-feeding, and keeping a close eye on the babies’ progress, the hospital gives the mothers fortified biscuits and multivitamins to supplement the babies’ regular diet. Eighty percent of children who participate in the program improve. And when they don’t, they can participate for a further three months – if crucial funding can continue…

Our Al Ahli Child Nutrition Project is just one of the many AID Sustainable Communities projects which will benefit from our Lent and Good Friday Gift Appeal this year. Other projects include strengthening communities in the Philippines by teaching them vital skills, or supporting women in Kenya to raise poultry for improved family nutrition. Or your gift can support AID’s partners to gain training themselves so that they can continue to provide much-needed support to their local communities.

Your donation can improve lives for babies like Manna in Gaza…and much, much more.

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