When we founded the Palestinian American Medical Association in 2015, my colleagues and I decided to combine our individual efforts to support health care in Palestine. We knew that in doing so, we could make our donations more impactful, and we had so many connections in the Palestinian health care community we were confident that we could direct our donations to address the health care community’s most urgent needs. It was an idea that simply made sense. With just a little more effort, we could really make a difference. PAMA reached out to see if people wanted to support and join our efforts and, year by year, support for PAMA increased.

In seven years, PAMA has built communities of support in the US that have donated over $6,000,000 to support health care in Palestine. PAMA has established and maintains several projects in Palestine that bring medical care and education to Palestinians. PAMA also responds to the urgent needs of the Palestinian medical community in times of crisis and coordinates with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, hospitals, clinics, medical universities, and other humanitarian organizations who work in Palestine.

Our idea, our very practical and simple idea has become a passion, an inspiration, and a labor of love. As president and as a founding member of PAMA, I am the steward not only of PAMA’s programs and progress, but I am also the keeper of the ideas that PAMA is founded upon, commitment, community, and transparency. Together, our efforts will be more impactful if we are willing to commit to the extra effort. PAMA’s accomplishments are the results of the cumulative commitment of our community in the US and our commitment to the future of healthcare in Palestine.

PAMA’s consistent and reliable presence in Palestine and the growth of PAMA’s communities in the US supplies an intangible yet integral piece of any humanitarian work, hope. For decades, Palestinians have seen basic standards of living eroded by forces outside of their control. As we continue to share this commitment to bring healthcare to Palestine, we remind the people of Palestine that they are not forgotten. As PAMA grows, the more visible we become in the world, and we increase the visibility of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.

Thank you for supporting the work that inspires us.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Yousef Khelfa, MD, FACP, PAMA Co-founder & President