Help For an Oleh and His Family

The following letter was submitted by a caring member of the Beit El community. 

A few months ago a ten year-old-boy from the town of Beit El in Israel was diagnosed with an advanced stage of Leukemia. The boy must undergo both hemotherapy and radiation therapy for an ongoing period of time. He travels every day to and from Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem—about an hour trip each way.

The boy, suffering from the side affects of the treatments, is in pain, has lost all his hair, has no appetite, cries often, is very weak and bloated, and at times needs a wheelchair to get around. He is one of four children, including a twin brother who is suffering along with him emotionally, and in many other ways. His family made aliyah to Israel from Chile about five years ago; the father’s employment wages are minimal and his mother has had to quit her job in order to take care of him.

One of the problems Beit El community members are trying to help solve for this boy and his family is the daily travel situation. The family has no car and must rely on favors from neighbors or charity organizations to take the boy and his mother to and from the hospital every day. The present volunteer-based arrangement is very problematic. It involves many different drivers, a variety of drop-off and pick-up points, sudden changes in schedules or cancellations, the boy being exposed to many germs, waiting outside in the summer sun or winter cold and, unfortunately, a lot of stress for everyone involved.

We, the residents of Beit El, would like to set up a better system that would involve paying for a driver / taxi that would be on hand and available on a regular day to day basis. We are, therefore, turning to different communities both within Israel and outside of the country to help this young boy and his family. It is estimated that travel expenses alone would cost approximately $125 (400 shekels) each way (to the hospital and back) or $2,450 (about 9,500 shekels) a month.

Unfortunately, this is only one of the many areas in which they will be in need of financial support for a prolonged period of time. We are very grateful for any contribution that would help ease their hardships.