Gates was married on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They have three children.

Gates is an avid reader, and enjoys playing golf and bridge.

A Gift of Hope

Wednesday, 31 October 2007

The horror that has befallen innocent men, women and children in Palestine needs no introduction.MERCY
Malaysia, since its inception, explored various ways and means to assist Palestinians in need.

With strong support from the public and government, MERCY Malaysia attempted without much success to
initiate a relief effort in November 2002. MERCY Malaysia’s 2002 Vice President Associate Professor Dr.
Azhar Abdul Aziz, entry application to the Occupied Palestinian Territory was denied by the Israeli authorities.

Assessment Team to Palestine

MERCY Malaysia, with the cooperation of the famous Dr. Ang Swee Chai from
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in London, then sent a volunteer to Lebanon to
assess the medical and humanitarian needs of the Palestinian refugee community
suffering from both the effects of the 1982 Israeli invasion and the ongoing Lebanese
civil war in March 2003.

MERCY Malaysia’s President Datuk Dr. Jemilah Mahmood and then Vice President
Associate Professor Dr. Azhar Abd Aziz successfully visited Palestine from 12 to 17 July 2003. The trip was
organized following an invitation from the Palestinian for Human Perseverance (FATA) organization and The
Palestinian Foundation for Culture, Science & Development (NASCD). The team’s visit was focused in the
Gaza strip and Rafah area. The aim of the visit to Palestine was to witness and have a first hand account of
the situation, understand the needs of the people and ascertain areas in which MERCY Malaysia can assist.
They also visited the Ministry of Health, Al Shifa Hospital, The Gaza Children's Hospital, Al Wafa Hospital, Al
Azhar University, The Islamic University and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

A Gift of Hope
"A Gift of Hope” project was inspired subsequently after the public humanitarian lecture on
26 August 2003. It aims to create a better environment for Palestinians and other
underprivileged children in the world to receive proper education materials such as school
bags. It also aims to inculcate the spirit of giving and sharing amongst Malaysian children.

The child donor will sponsor school bags which carry messages of friendship and hope.
These messages will be written on booklets and postcards and they will be packed into
individual bags before sending it to the children of Palestine, Malaysia and other countries
where MERCY Malaysia operates.

A pilot project was initiated with Sekolah Islam Al Adni November 2003 where MERCY Malaysia collected 37
booklets to be sent with the donated school bags. The first consignments of 250 school bags arrived safely in
Palestine in early 2004 and have been distributed to the children.

Stories from Gaza

Monday, 05 January 2009

Nadine & Shoroukh

January 5, 2009

Like any other 14 year old teenager, Shoroukh has

dreams and aspirations. She enjoys school, is
naturally gregarious and has many friends. One day,
she hopes to go to University, succeed and go on to
teach other students.

It is her love for school and her friends that led her to
make her journey there on the fateful day of the
beginning of the Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Her school
was damaged and debris falling on her also resulted
in multiple fractures in her right leg.
She considers herself lucky. Her father had decided to take her out across the border for medical
treatment. Little did they realize that when they left, their house along with many others in Brej
Camp in Gaza would also be damaged and fall to the ground, burying her younger sister Nadine,
7.

Nadine barely survived and lies unconscious in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza with head injuries. Her
mother and other four siblings are sleeping on the street.

“It is cold out there and I miss my mother and siblings,” cries Shoroukh.

“I wish it was me and not Nadine who is so badly injured. She is such a young girl and should not
suffer like this. I miss her and I want to go home,” she adds.

But where is home now for Shoroukh and her family? Where will she stay when she returns to
Gaza? What of the plight of the 2200 injured and still in Gaza? And who will shelter those who
have lost their homes?

Palestinians are people too.

Ambulance
January 5, 2009

It is exceptionally cold today.

We are all waiting at the Rafah crossing with our

trucks loaded with 50 tons of medical supplies.
There are a number of others waiting with us.
Bombs drop everywhere as we wait. Some are
close to us.

In the past 20 minutes, I counted 20 and after that,

decided to stop counting.

The gate opens and we are allowed to send our trucks through. This is such a blessing as nothing
managed to pass through yesterday. By God;s grace, things went very smoothly from then on.
While our 5 trucks drove through to the transit area, we walked.

The wails of ambulances fill the air. More patients are being transferred into Egypt but a few are
transferring back dead patients back to their homeland and families in Gaza.

Among them, I see a Palestinian woman. She is crying as her young son is lifted into the
ambulance. He had succumbed to his injuries and there was nothing doctors in Egypt could do to
save him.

In the transit zone, another Palestinian ambulance arrives and we help transfer a patient to the
Egyptian ambulance. He is barely 10 years old and his head is wrapped in a bandage and he is
unconscious and on manual ventilation. He was shot in the head by Israeli sniper fire.

I wonder how he could have been caught in this? What crime did he commit?

The Palestinian doctor accompanying him looks calm but tells me they are all exhausted. When
will help come? I tell him we are here; waiting for the time we are allowed in.

But for the moment, we give to them medical supplies and contributions from the people of
Malaysia. Tears well up and he nods his head saying “Please..thank the people of Malaysia for
not forgetting us”.

As his ambulance drives back into Gaza, our goods, now all transferred onto Palestinian trucks,
are ready to roll away into the cold evening.

We wait till all the supplies cross into Gaza and take our steps back towards Rafah.

MERCY Malaysia is sending much needed assistance in the form of medication, disposable
supplies and equipment to hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Please help children like Shoroukh and
Nadine regain their dignity and live to see their dreams and aspirations come true. Donate
generously to MERCY Malaysia for their humanitarian work in Palestine and other vulnerable
communities all over the world. Contact 03-2273 3999 if you wish to help.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->- <!--[endif]-->Penned by Datuk Dr Jemilah Mahmood, Founder

and President, MERCY Malaysia.

*At this moment, Dr Jemilah is in Rafah, the Egyptian town on the border of Gaza, working to
deliver assistance to the victims of the Israeli attacks.