Hardship to Healing: Helping a Palestinian Mother and Son

CBN Israel facilitates sight-restoring surgery for a young boy in Israel. A follow-up visit exposed the family's poverty, prompting CBN to provide essential furniture and food, bridging the gap between medical aid and practical support.

Amira, a Palestinian Christian, is a divorced single mom who lives with her son Ramzi just outside Bethlehem. The struggling Palestinian economy makes finding work hard enough, but being a single mom makes it an even bigger challenge.

“Here in Palestine, we don't have a law that protects single moms or social security that I can go and get some assistance from,” says Amira. “So, from the moment I became a single mom, I had to find my way.”

Amira worked two to three jobs just to make ends meet.

“It was like 24-7. I don't have a Sunday. I don't have a Monday. I don't have a Saturday…and then to take care of my son, to cook for him, to do his homework, to take care of him, to give him some time, to go out with him.”

To make things worse, Ramzi suffered from a debilitating eye condition, causing him headaches. He had trouble reading and struggled with low self-esteem and he experienced bullying at school.

“My son has problems in his eyes,” says Amira. “And he needed an urgent surgery last year. So I took him to the hospital, we put in a date for the operation.” 

CBN Israel was able to sponsor Ramzi’s life-changing eye surgery. And upon a follow-up visit, the CBN team discovered that Amira was sleeping on a mattress on the floor and that they lacked basic furniture and appliances. CBN Israel jumped into action.

“When they saw my situation, they helped me more. And they provided lots of help, like food. I had some stuff in my house missing, like a bedroom. And they bought me a bedroom. They bought me an oven. And I'm so grateful and thankful, They helped me so much and until now I found a job, finally.”

These gifts helped Amira get back on her feet and restored her hope. Ramzi’s eye surgery was also a great success, and his confidence soared as a result.

“His eyes are amazing,” says Amira. “I’m very thankful that I decided to do this operation and I’m thankful for CBN for helping me to do that, because I didn’t find them. They found me.”