West Waterford raises €40,000 for Gaza mobile maternity unit
John Hurson of Palestine Aid pictured accepting a cheque of €41,327.70 at Lawlor's Hotel, Dungarvan
Palestinian solidarity groups Waterford for Palestine and Gaeil ar son Gaza raised €41,327 for a mobile maternity unit designed to aid pregnant women living with Gaza’s desolated healthcare infrastructure.
Gaeil ar son Gaza said the van is currently being developed in Cairo, Egypt, and is expected to become operational later this month. Israel’s blockade of Gaza means that the mobile van is currently blocked from entering Gaza.
Money was raised for the van during a fundraiser at Lawlor’s Hotel, Dungarvan, in November.
“We really appreciate the generosity of the people of this area,” said Palestine Aid’s John Hurson while speaking at Lawlor’s Hotel in December.
“You have given a life-changing gift to the women of Gaza. With the complete decimation of their hospitals, women are currently forced to give birth in appallingly unsanitary and unsafe conditions,” said Mr Hurson.
“These mobile clinics – once we get them in – will be a much-needed lifeline for mothers and newborns alike.”
€15,690 of proceeds towards the van were raised through a charity auction, where 25 pieces from various Irish artists were on offer.
“The number of community organisations and individuals who contacted us and offered money or valuable prizes or donated to our auction was phenomenal,” said a spokesperson for the two solidarity groups.
“Shopkeepers in Dungarvan gave over and above what any of us had hoped for. Parish committees, schools and even children messaged us to say they would like to donate. We would like to say ‘Go raibh míle, míle maith agaibh go léir’ to all of those people.”
Gaeil ar son Gaza said the price of completing the van’s development would be roughly €86,000.
Along with West Waterford’s fundraising, money was raised from Cork Social Workers, Cork Social Democrats, Tullamore for Gaza, Dundalk IPSC and Tomney’s Bar, Co. Tyrone.
Tuathlaith Murtagh, a former Gladiators contestant from West Belfast, also completed a 168km duathlon (split evenly between running and cycling) to raise funds for the maternity van.
