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Yaara's
Journey
The Palestinian health system can't offer all of the life saving treatments to all of those children in hospitals in the West Bank. Yaara was treated at a hospital in Ramallah, but once she needed full-time dialysis she was moved to Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, where she receives treatments at least
Yaara's journey began on the day she was born. Yaara, a Palestinian girl from Ramallah, was born with kidney disease. This disease oten leads to kidney failure, and urgent need for dialysis or kidney transplantation.
The West Bank
times
a week.
There are at least 500 children with kidney diseases in the West Bank.
3
Jerusalem
Ramallah
The distance between Yaara's home in Ramallah to Augusta Victoria is
13
km
25
min
Which can be a short drive of
But this kind of trip is not possible for Yaara and her mother. Three times a week they go through:
Ramallah central station
Ramallah's central bus station is a loud, crowded place, which serves thousands of passengers a day. Not exactly a place for a sick 11 year old girl.
Qalandiya CheckPoint
Qalandiya checkpoint is the main entrance to Jerusalem from the north. In normal times, thousands of Palestinian workers go through the chaeckpoint every day, a process which can take up to an hour. Passing through the checkpoint to the Israeli side entails a lot of walking. There is a shorter route for people with medical problems, but it is not always available.
East Jerusalem
There was no one to take Yaara from the checkpoint to the hospital, so the journey went through yet another central station: Damascus Gate Terminal in East Jerusalem. From there, Yaara and her mother had to take yet another bus to the hospital.
Augusta Victoria
The end goal of Yaara's daily journey. The total amount of travel time round-trip was
5
hour
routine.
After some time, Yaara and her mother got to know Humans Without Borders. Thanks to the HWB volunteers, the trips have become much easier. Instead of two bus rides between the checkpoint and the hospital, Yaara is picked up from Qalandiya checkpoint and driven straight to the hospital and then back to Qalandiya when her treatment is finished.
"The volunteers whom I have gotten to know are wonderful people. They have kind, sweet hearts and are very patient. They make us feel happy and comfort us when we are stressed. My family struggles financially and one of the volunteers had an idea that I could teach Arabic to Israelis by phone. At first, I was nervous, but it actually turned out great. I have made a lot of friends whom I love to talk to.
I regard the volunteers with HWB as my second family.""
A drawing
by Yaara
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