Here is Nara's new Chuffed campaign, please direct your donations over to her Chuffed!

I am planning on running another auction and some virtual events for Nara, but I need a short break before I do that!

I, Sky Cubacub of Rebirth Garments, have been in direct contact with Nara since April 10, 2024. We have become fast friends due to so many overlapping symptoms of our disabilities. Nara’s story caught my eye because I have post-viral ME/CFS which many times is a precursor to MS. Nara is a 33 year old disabled mom of two super cute kiddos who are 7 and 13 years old. She and her husband and kids have gotten enough money for their evacuation, passports and some of her medical treatment, but they need money for their survival in the meantime while the Rafah border is closed. They had to leave Rafah to go somewhere else in Gaza until the border reopens, so they will be using some of their current donation money for those moving costs and necessities, and we will recoup the costs with this fundraiser auction and party!

During our chats, I found out from Nara that she had not previously had health issues until she was exposed in the white phosphorus attack in 2008. The long lasting damage and effects of phosphorus continue to compound and become more and more disabling to this day, even after 16 years.

Image description: One of Nara's kids holding up a drawing of their family in front of their face, while they hold up a peace sign with their other hand

Here is her story in her own words (edited for clarity):

“Hi I'm Nara,

I'm a cancer and multiple sclerosis patient. I need treatment, examinations, and follow-up on a regular basis, but the hospitals in which I used to follow up were bombed and the other one was turned into military barracks. All I need now is to leave Gaza for treatment, preserve my life, and live with my family in peace.

We're a family of 4, including my 13 and 7 year old children.

I had been diagnosed with a tumor in the pancreas as a result of inhaling phosphorus in a previous war. A couple years after being exposed to phosphorus, I became pregnant, and the fetus was pressing on the tumor, which drew the doctor’s attention to the cancer. My fetus was emergency aborted, and the spleen, 80% of the pancreas, and part of the small intestine were removed. I complained every now and then of a lot of pain as a result of the removal of part of the pancreas. I was having follow up care in the Turkish Friendship Hospital for hematology and tumors. But since the beginning of October, I have not been able to follow up because the hospital has turned into a military barracks.

The remaining part is talking about multiple sclerosis:

In 2018, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I had many complications, such as inflammation of the seventh nerve in the eye, the inability to walk with balance, movement with difficulty, and many symptoms. I was then required to take 12 injections every month and many medications and vitamins. I was following up at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, but unfortunately the hospital was out of service due to the war. So for a long time I have not received any injections. MS is truly difficult and it controls my life completely, and the attacks occur in many and varied ways.”

A note about her breathing apparatus:

People in displacement have to wait in long queues and pay to use the bathroom, so Nara had started to restrict her water intake because of a UTI she never has been able to heal from making it so that she has too much urgency whenever she drinks water. This has created a problem with raised levels of potassium, so doctors have placed her on oxygen for fear of the potassium affecting her heart.

Goal

She and her husband and kids have gotten enough money for their evacuation, passports and some of her medical treatment, but they need money for their survival in the meantime while the Rafah border is closed. They need to leave Rafah to go somewhere else in Gaza until the border reopens, so they will be using some of their current donation money for those necessities, and we will recoup the costs with this fundraiser auction and party!

So our goal for the auction and event is: $10,000 for survival necessities

Nara says "the campaign money currently goes to buy clean water as well as unclean water for me and my family.
To buy food try to live well.
For necessary personal hygiene items
To complete the tent's needs (trying to make it suitable for a person with MS )
Even the fuel or firewood used for kindling has become a purchase, and the prices here are very high
To purchase some medicines, if available, and nutritional supplements
to buy insecticides to spray in the tents due to the large number of insects and mosquitoes."

I have her bank info and will be transfering the money to her when it is accessible to me!

Nara chooses to stay anonymous because she has had to mask her disabilities so much that only her family knows about her MS and Cancer, so we have not linked her instagram, but we are in direct contact with her and can verify that she is who she says she is! Because of this, she cannot promote her own fundraiser, so it is our job to collectively do it for her!

you can check out her other fundraiser at https://givebutter.com/NaraMedicalAid/

if you want to get involved in fundraising for Nara and her family, DM me @rebirthgarments on IG or email me at fundraiserforseraj[at]gmail[dot]com

Image Description: Nara is facing away from the camera wearing a grey hijab and black dress over jeans and sneakers. she is standing in front of some displacement tents near where she was first displaced to.

Art print of your choice (11x14) by Holly Genovese