Pharmacy in North Gaza
Meet our Pharmacy project lead, Mahmoud
---------------------------------- Pharmacy development project ---------------------------------- A group has come together under the umbrella of Connecting Gaza that has committed to support Mahmoud Hussan to reestablish his pharmacy in Gaza City. In the group are a number of health care providers – physicians, pharmacists and scientists as well as long standing advocates for Palestinian rights. ---------------------------------- Background ---------------------------------- Mahmoud ran his own pharmacy for more than ten years prior to October 2024 but it was destroyed by Israeli forces, and he has been living with his family in displaced persons camps. He has four children, and his wife is a preschool teacher. In November 2024 he approached Rabbi David Mivasair, who is a well-respected advocate for Palestine, with a proposal to start up a new, small pharmacy in Gaza City to serve the needs of displaced people in his area. ---------------------------------- Proposal ---------------------------------- Mahmoud proposed that he would start a small pharmacy that would provide discounted medication and fundamental medical services – BP check, glucose checks, wound care etc to displaced people and people in need. In Mahmoud's own words, "My primary goal, after working for 10 years in the Jabalia area, is to serve the community there, as it includes a large segment of low-income, simple, and marginalized families. Before the war, I used to assist them as much as I could with their medications because many people there cannot afford to buy medicines due to their difficult financial circumstances. If we find more donors for this cause, it would be great to serve a larger number of displaced people, the poor, and those in need in the area. From what I have seen, everyone is in desperate need of help—the situation of the people is tragic and extremely difficult." ---------------------------------- Project to date ---------------------------------- We started off with a goal to raise USD $10000 to rebuild and stock his pharmacy. This fundraising was achieved in the first few months of the project. We transferred the funds to Mahmoud in January, 2025. He used used this money to set up a new pharmacy. In a small, rented space in the rubble, he has built his pharmacy with wood and plastic but the shelves are stocked as you can see in the photos below. We have discussed providing tele-health to his pharmacy from our community abroad, but this is not part of the initial steps of the plan. ---------------------------------- Ongoing Support ---------------------------------- After helping Mahmoud re-launch his pharmacy, we realized that he will need ongoing support to sustain it. The people he is serving simply cannot afford to buy medications and health care supplies. We have committed to continue supporting him with money so that he can stock his pharmacy on a monthly basis for 6 months. We already have a monthly commitment from a donor for CAD$3000 per month. We would like to provide more so that he can provide more to the people around him. We are currently fundraising to be able to do that. If you contribute to our efforts at this time, you will enable Mahmoud to provide to more of the people in need in his community. ---------------------------------- Deliverables ---------------------------------- We cannot expect Mahmoud to keep accurate records of all expenses since Gaza systems remain chaotic. However, he has already been providing us updates of his plans and his vision. See attached photos and videos. We anticipate he will keep us updated with photos and videos. ---------------------------------- Our Commitment ---------------------------------- The commitment from this team is to ensure that all donations go directly to Mahmoud minus a very small cost of money transfer. We commit to staying involved and ensuring his funding for 6 months at least. We commit to keeping you as a donor updated if you request updates. We commit to ending the project if we feel there is no chance of success or if our support is no longer necessary. For accountability you can look up Rabbi Mivasair since he is well known for his integrity and advocacy and he is the lead in Canada on this project. ---------------------------------- Our Ask ---------------------------------- Monthly or once off contributions of whatever amount you can manage. Every amount helps and will go directly to Gaza to support Mahmoud’s vision. ---------------------------------- How to Donate ---------------------------------- You can donate through e-transfer (in Canada) or PayPal (anywhere) by sending to david@mivasair.com. Please indicate that the donation is for the Pharmacy project. ---------------------------------- Updates from Mahmoud ---------------------------------- In March 2025, Mahmoud wrote to us saying he had rented a space, cleared the rubble, set up a small pharmacy shop, and is helping people. He shared many photos from the arduous process, along with a photo of himself at the pharmacy. These photos are shared further below. In mid-February 2025, Mahmoud wrote: "I apologize for not being able to communicate frequently due to the lack of internet access in the area. I am currently working on preparing the pharmacy, and the opening will take place next week. However, Northern Gaza is completely devastated. I searched for several days for a suitable location in Jabalia to open the pharmacy. I chose a small to medium-sized space and rented it on an annual basis. [...] Given that there are no pharmacies in the area, and based on what most of the displaced people in the camps have told me, they are urgently waiting for a pharmacy to open. They face great difficulty in obtaining medicine and have to travel long distances to reach the nearest pharmacy. Over the past few days, some of them have been calling me, urging me to open the pharmacy as soon as possible." Before this, in January 2025, Mahmoud was already planning and preparing for restarting a pharmacy back in Jabalia. Here's what he wrote to us then: "I want to inform you that I have received the full initial amount for the pharmacy through my dear brother, David. My family and I will be returning to Gaza within two weeks after being displaced for approximately one year and three months due to the forced evacuation, war, suffering, fear, and hunger. I will soon establish the pharmacy in Gaza and will keep you updated with all the details documented through photos and videos to ensure transparency. I also want to inform you that I will be supporting many displaced individuals, the poor, and those in need in my city, Gaza. Your support, help, and continuous assistance to us are a true example of love and brotherhood. Words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
