The Rafah camp in Gaza is now occupied by thousands of families in mainly handmade tents.
Even simple ailments can be fatal when left untreated and malnutrition is widespread in the camp.
They have now been living on the sand for many month since losing their homes and are suffering from a number of serious medical problems associated with living in close conditions with no waste facilities. There is now only one functional hospital in Southern Gaza and medical treatment in the camp is the most basic you can imagine, so any help would be greatly appreciated by the families.
I have been mainly supporting one family in the camp, but the situation is so bad I am asking for support to help other families. For someone like me, living in a nice flat in Scotland I can not imagine how basic the facilities can be in the camp. Even painkillers are in short supply and ailments like dysentery can be lethal.
Here is a description of the conditions from my friends who are there. This is translated from Arabic, so apologies for grammar.
"The temperature in the tent is different from the temperature anywhere else.
Underneath you are very hot sand, and around you are thousands of insects that you have never known before in your life.
The nylon from which the tent is made collects heat and multiplies it, so you find yourself inside a burning tank. The little water you get is barely hot, so there is no way to cool down your smoking body.
All means of cooling are not available. There is no electricity, no motors, and no electricity to operate the fans.
Despite all this torment there, are daily tasks that must be accomplished: oven lines, salt water lines, fresh water lines, bathroom lines, lighting a fire, preparing food, dough, jelly, washing, arranging etc.
How will this sound to people who are accustomed to luxury, pampering and air conditioning in the heat, deal with the details of this life?"
The families in these tents are now facing warmer temperatures reaching over 40 degrees centigrade (over 100 degrees F). The tents will be unbearable and medical aid will be the only way many families will survive the next few months.
The people there have no homes to go back to whenever the current situation ends, so they may be in this camp and others for many years. However getting aid there for the immediate problems is of upmost importance. If you have managed to read all the way down here I hope you will consider donating something towards their aid. I am personally in contact with my friends there and the donations reach the people directly affected and not be caught up in admin or stopped at the Rafah gate, like so much overseas aid.
If any journalists or news outlets are interested in communicating directly with people inside the camp at Rafah, please contact me using the online form on this site.