Help Twelve-Year-Old Boy Live a Full Life

My name is Norah and I am launching this fundraiser on behalf of my dear friend, Aftey and her nephew, Yousif. Yousif is a beautiful twelve-year-old boy who was born with several serious ailments including a faulty heart valve, a permanent tracheostomy, loss of hearing and the inability to speak. Despite his lifetime of health challenges, he remains a happy and kind boy who simply wants to be able to attend school, run after his brothers and live a full life.

His aunt Aftey and I met online eleven years ago while she was living in Baghdad, her ancestral home. At the time of our meeting, Aftey was recovering from a near-fatal injury from a suicide bombing. Her entire extended family was living under one roof and under constant threat of violence due to a power vacuum that was left when the US drew down its troops.

Today, through a series of incredible events, miracles and Aftey’s unstoppable determination, Aftey is happily married and living in Indiana with her husband and four-year-old twins. Sadly, her nephew Yousif has not been so fortunate. His family left Iraq six years ago to seek a better life and better medical care in Turkey. Due to a series of unfortunate bureaucratic obstacles, they find themselves without citizenship, proper employment or health insurance. Last year his health issues became life-threatening and it became clear that Yousif would not survive for long if he didn’t get surgery to replace his heart valve and the tracheostomy he has had since he was five months old. Doctors in Turkey refused to treat him.

I am so happy to report that, thanks to an incredible non-profit called Mending Kids (https://www.mendingkids.org), we have found a doctor from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles that is willing to do the heart surgery at no cost as soon as this October.

Aftey’s family is grateful beyond words for the generosity of Mending Kids and the doctor at Cedars Sinai. Now we are only left with several logistical and other financial challenges to work out to get them to and from Los Angeles and to take care of their living expenses while there.

We are so close to giving Yousif the possibility of a fuller life.

Please consider making a donation in any amount to help Yousif.

Thank you,

Aftey, Norah and Yousif's entire family