£10k raised in Omagh to bring injured kids from Gaza to Ireland

A HUGELY successful coffee morning was held at O’Neill’s Healy Park last week to raise vital funds for the Gaza Paediatric Care Initiative.

Superbly organised by Geraldine McMahon, the event raised awareness of the Gaza Paediatric Awareness Initiative, a dedicated group of medical professionals who have been working for months to bring injured Palestinian children to Ireland for treatment.

Local sportswear provider MFC also rowed in behind the fundraising initiative and launched a special jersey in conjunction with the event, which was available for purchase on the day.

A grand total of almost £10,000 was raised between the coffee morning and the MFC jersey sales.

Guest speaker was Dr Nuala Quinn, a Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine at CHI Temple Street, who spoke passionately about the work of the not-for-profit organisation.

A native of Cookstown, Dr Quinn urged people to rally to offer assistance in their efforts to help children who have been maimed in the ongoing conflict.

“Some of these children have horrendous injuries from bombs, and some are unable to access life-saving medicines for diseases such as haemophilia,” she said.

“When these families arrive to Ireland, they are going to need a huge amount of support and help from the Irish community.”

The war in Gaza has had a devastating impact on medical facilities, especially for children.

The group has been asked by the Irish government to help in the evacuation of 30 sick children, who are currently stranded in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

“They will be coming with nothing. While we have put thousands of hours into this over the past year, the hard work is now going to begin and we need all the financial and social help we can get,” said Dr Quinn.