Does suffering have an end?

For twenty years, Mona Matar and her family members have been living in poverty and suffering from diseases. Despair and frustration surround their hopes in life and put an end for their dreams.  

“Since twenty years, we have been living in poverty and suffering from diseases, we are living in despair”, that’s how Mona’s mum started her speech. Her tears expressed what her heart can’t say about their harsh and bitter life.

“Suffering, suffering, and suffering… that’s all what we have “, her mother added.

Mona was affected by cancer five years ago. She is limping on crutches at home because of her injured leg. She said, “I have to move from one place to another to treat my disease. I can’t live now without taking painkillers”.

Mona describes the difficulty in which she faces due to her disease by saying”  I find difficulty when moving in my home and when going to school because I do not have an electric chair; I have a wheelchair chair but it always get damaged so it needs a contentious maintenance which costs my family a lot”.

The unavailability of stable income source for Mona’s family affected negatively on Mona by being prevented from achieving many of her rights and hopes; mainly having an electric chair. “I used to limp on crutches which exhaust me severely. My dream is to have an electric chair”. Mona says.

Her father is sick and unemployed in which they don’t have a stable source of income. They can’t pay Mona’s medicine costs when it is unavailable in the hospital. In such case, Mona’s health worsens. Besides, they can’t afford her crutches and wheel chair’s mending costs. Mona added: “When my wheelchair is damaged, I can’t move for days”.

Matar family consists of seven members; all of them live in one room in their grandparents’ house. Actually, their grandmother and grandfather are also so ill and can’t walk very well. Mona commented: “We have no place to live in and unable to pay renting costs. Therefore, we prefer living with our grandparents who are in need for our help due to their chronic diseases”. In fact, Mona’s parents have to pay more than 200 Shekels each month to cover the grandparents’ needs as medicine, diapers, detergents, and sterilizers.

Mo’taz is the oldest son. He is bedridden all the time because he has severe backbone pain. Usually, families put their hopes of having better living on their older son however, Matar family’s hope faded away due the illness of Mo’taz.

The family can’t provide all its necessaries; mainly food and medicine.

Islam Relief and through its Social Safety Net Project tried to reduce Mona’s family suffering by providing food baskets and cleaning materials as an urgent help.

At the end of her speech, Mona said” “I thank Islamic Relief because they provided me with an electric chair; my life became easier; I can leave my home and go to school easily”.

Joyfully she added, “Now I can visit my friends. I’m extremely happy because this chair will help me to live normally”.

Right now, Mona and her family are willing to be continuously helped by Islamic Relief as their only breadwinner and provider.

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