A Child Injured Twice by Hunger: Why Mays Needs Help Now

A mother with brain cancer, a 12-year-old injured by an aid drop and now poisoned by contaminated food, and a family surviving in a torn tent with almost no support.

I have been writing notes and pleading for help for this family for almost a full day. In that time, we have received a little under $35. I am grateful for every donation, but it is far from enough to keep this family stable. I have never seen a case this severe struggle to gain traction, especially when a child is in the hospital.

This is the story of 12-year-old Mays, a girl who has already survived more than most adults ever will.

Months ago, she was struck by a U.S. aid drop. The impact shattered her leg and left her needing metal plates to walk. Now she is back in the hospital because she ate contaminated food. She is feverish, weak, and fighting off poisoning in a place where medical care is scarce and expensive.

Her mother, Zikrayat, is battling brain cancer. She is 30 years old and trying to keep four children alive while living in a torn tent after being displaced more than ten times. Their tent cannot keep out heat, cold, rodents or insects. Their meals are inconsistent. Their children are malnourished.

Their campaign has been running for almost a year and has reached £1,999. They have received some help, but nowhere near enough to meet their basic needs or cover emergencies like this one. They are still living on the edge of survival.

And now this new crisis has pushed them even closer to danger.

“I am living with brain cancer. My daughter can barely walk after being injured by an aid drop. We live in a torn tent. We have nothing left.”

These are Zikrayat’s own words. From the beginning, she has said that her biggest fear is food. Finding it. Keeping it safe. Making sure her children do not starve.

But in Gaza, even food can kill you.

Israel’s genocide has destroyed every system that keeps people alive. Homes, hospitals, water, sanitation, food supply. A family I highlighted previously faced poisoning through their medication. Now here we are again. Another child poisoned. Another family pushed past the limit of what any human being should endure.

This is why I am writing this article.

Because nothing else has worked. Because this family cannot wait. Because a 12-year-old girl is lying in a hospital bed after being injured twice by hunger. First by an aid drop. Now by contaminated food.

Because her siblings are at risk if we do not act.

Even though they have so little, they are sharing it with their little furry friend.

What this family needs right now is simple.

They need help covering Mays’s hospital bill.

They need safe food so the children do not get poisoned again.

Everything else matters, but food is the difference between life and death for them. Food is what keeps the other children from ending up in the same hospital bed. Food is what keeps this mother alive long enough to continue her cancer treatment. Food is what keeps this family from collapsing under the weight of starvation and illness.

This is not a long-term plan. This is an emergency.

Please donate if you can. Please share if you cannot.

Every share matters. Every dollar matters. This family has been trying to survive for almost a year with limited support. They need more help than they have received.

Help give Mays a chance to heal. Help give her mother one moment of relief. Help keep her siblings safe.

Donate here: https://chuffed.org/project/zikrayat

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