Thanks to you, Majd has started treatment for her Ulcer

Thanks to the flood of donations that the Scholarship Fund got when we put out a call to pay for Majd's medical treatment, Majd has been able to buy the drugs necessary to treat her ulcer. She says that they are big huge pills that taste like eating iron. She hasn't had any results yet because it is a six month treatment plan but we are sure that she will be healthy. Majd, and Jeanie and Larisa of the Hammash Scholarship Fund thank you very much for your continued attention to Majd.

Majd has an Ulcer

Majd Studying July 2007




Majd Does the Washing Up July 2007





When I was in Dheishah with the Hammash family in December 2007, Majd told me that she was having stomach problems. She had hardly any solid bowel movements and she often had horrible stomach aches. I, having had a similar bad reaction to the water in the summer before, suggested it was that and told her just to drink tea, and have lots of vegetables. She tried this but it did not have any effect.

When I returned this July her condition had not changed, despite the eight months that had passed. Majd was also much thinner than before. While I was in there in July, she went to the doctor to get it checked out. She went to a stomach specialist, Dr. Raed AtTyty, who works in the Israeli Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and is only available in the Occupied West Bank on Wednesdays. Dr. AtTyty was surprised to find that Majd had an ulcer because they are so rare for people that young.

There are many things that can give a person an ulcer in her stomach but in Majd's case it was most likely stress that caused her ulcer. Being a girl in Palestinian refugee camp is not a picnic. Girls are expected to do all of the household chores with your mother and your sisters--I have been told that it is shameful for a man to lift a broom! They are supposed to keep their reputations 100% good which means making sure that when one is in public one does not talk to a person that has a bad reputation or being out of the house without a purpose that is not connected to one's education, family, or female friends. Also, as a student, Majd is expected to bring home top grades, not only for herself, but because it will help better her family and her community. From her school work to who she talks to, a girl is expected to always consider how her performance and reputation will represent her family and her community. If that were not enough, Dheishah Refugee Camp, where Majd's family has lived since they were expelled their village in 1948, is overcrowded, has intermittent water and electricity, and is subject to frequent incursions by the Israeli Army. In the early morning hours last Thursday, September 25, the Israeli Army stormed the Camp and arrested one teenager, Ibrahim Munir Arafah. From worrying about her classes at Bethlehem University to worrying about Army jeeps outside her house, Majd has a lot to be stressed out about.

Dr. AtTyty emphasized to Majd the seriousness of her condition, and recommended that she get X-Rays done and told her that they typical treatment for ulcers is six months of antibiotic pills. Together, her treatment would come to 2,500 New Israeli Shekels or about $732 US dollars. This is three months of her Majd's mother's salary as a Physical Education teacher at a Palestinian Authority-run girls' middle school. Majd's mother, Miyasar, is the primary breadwinner for the family of five, and can barely put food on the table.

When I spoke with Majd a week ago about her diagnosis, she had to convince me of the reality of her situation: her family could not afford to get her ulcer treated. I was in disbelief because this was a serious health issue. When I persisted in telling her health was the most important thing, she kindly reminded me that she was in the Occupied West Bank, not America. Her father had asked UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) if there were any sort of gratis medical care for situations like Majd's and they said no, even though UNRWA's purpose is to provide for Palestinian refugees' basic needs. I, irate at the UN and frightened for the potentially fatal state of my friend's health, said that was ridiculous and went on for a bit like that, saying that I couldn't believe it and telling Majd that this was her health. Majd asked me not to tell her anymore about the gravity of her situation because there was simply no money to fix it. I realized that my words to her could make it seem like I was assuming that she could easily come up with 2,500 shekels which were simply unavailable to her and that I even may have sounded a little naïve, do-gooder-y, and patronizing all at the same time. I told her I was sorry, and later I spoke with my mother about the situation. We agreed that although the stated purpose of the Hammash Scholarship Fund is to pay Majd's tuition at Bethlehem University, that it would also pay for her health emergencies.

Therefore, I am asking you to give more than you can to pay for Majd's treatment. If ten people paid $80, we would have more than enough. Please make your checks out to Al-Awda and put Hammash Scholarship Fund in the Memo. Your donation will be tax-deductible this way.

Mail your checks to:

Al-Awda
P.O. Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013



Thank you very much for helping Majd get better. She is one of my dearest friends and a fabulous person. She, my mother, and I hope very much that she can someday be in the US and meet you all.

An article about the Israeli incursion into Dheishah on September 25, 2008 can be found here: http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=32160

Majd Recieves Flowers for getting the Highest Score in her High School on the Palestinian Ministry Exams (Tawjihi)

July 2005
copyright LYS Photography

Donate! or Yes! Education IS a Universal Human Right!

Al-Awda (www.al-awda.org), a 501(c)3 charitable organization is the Hammash Scholarship Fund's fiscal sponsor, which means that if you donate to the Scholarship Fund via Al-Awda by writing a check to Al-Awda and putting "Hammash Scholarship Fund" in the memo line, that you will get a tax deduction.

Here is their address:
Al-Awda
P.O. Box 131352
Carlsbad, CA 92013



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Who is Majd Hammash?

Majd Hammash is the middle child in the Hammash family, a Palestinian refugee family who lives in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, Occupied West Bank. Majd is majoring in Arabic Translation and English at Bethlehem University, a Catholic school where she maintains an high GPA and will graduate in December 2009. She wants to come to the US for graduate work in English and translation.

What is the Hammash Family Scholarship Fund?

Larisa Shaterian met the Hammash family through an internship with the Middle East Children’s Alliance (www.mecaforpeace.org), and lived with the family for extended periods since 2005. In gratitude for all they have given her, Larisa set up the Hammash Scholarship Fund to help Majd with college expenses.

Inspired by the way others helped the older Hammash children and by examples of peer-to-peer scholarships, Larisa first used her own savings, then solicited family and friends, and finally founded the Hammash Scholarship Fund, with her mother, Jeanie Shaterian, as the Fund’s administrator.

The Hammash Scholarship Fund has already made an important practical difference in Majd Hammash's life and is committed to the long-term educational goals of the three Hammash children. Please join us in making Majd’s dreams come true by sending a tax-deductible contribution to the Hammash Scholarship Fund.