SUPPLY CHAIN FOR GAZA SECURED
Mercy Relief’s first team sends USD 50,000 worth of medical aid
Rafah Border, 29 November 2012 – Singapore’s own humanitarian NGO, Mercy Relief (MR), had its first response team for the Gaza conflict relief in neighbouring Egypt last Saturday morning. By the following afternoon, the team had established the supply chain network with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies for its medical relief supplies to channel through the Egyptian Rafah border. The six-man team then flew into Israel to link with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Jerusalem to facilitate more supplies to Gaza through the Israeli Kerem Shalom border.
Medical aid is the prevailing and key humanitarian requirement in Gaza due to the high number of casualties and the onset of winter. With its three local and international partners, MR is providing structured medical assistance – the provision of essential medical supplies, the set-up of a surgical facility and, facilitating the clinical laboratory test facility to allow for earlier diagnoses to facilitate appropriate interventions.
Last Sunday, the MR team was in the Egyptian province of North Sinai to personally assess the border crossing at Rafah, which saw smooth traffic of passenger and supply vehicles going into Gaza. Leading the first team, MR Chief Executive Hassan Ahmad said, “The ceasefire and truce between Israel and Hamas have provided some form of peace and stability in the area. We have to seize this opportunity to quickly and personally assess the actual needs on the ground so as to have better analysis of the situation in order to provide appropriate intervention. Any wrong intervention would cause wastage and could even exacerbate the situation. Now that the relief supply chain is established, more Singaporean donations can get directly and swiftly into Gaza”.
In response to the appeals made by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Red Crescents of Palestine and Egypt, to support their ongoing relief efforts for the current armed crisis in Gaza, Palestine, MR had obtained the permit from the Charities Unit to raise funds from 21 November – 23 December 2012.
Singapore’s religious and social institutions including the Taoist Federation, the Methodist Church, the Rahmatan Lil’ Alamin Foundation (RLAF) and the Chen Su Lan Trust have come forward to contribute and support MR’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza. MR can only serve the distressed and disadvantaged as much as the support it gets from concerned donors.
To support MR's ongoing relief efforts to cushion the pains of the innocent, contribute through the following donation modes: