This document summarizes the goals and operations of HEAL, a volunteer medical group providing aid to Syrian refugees. The group was founded in 2013 by medical students to address the medical needs of refugees. HEAL aims to provide direct medical aid to injured refugees as well as spread awareness. It operates through committees focused on tasks like medical care, research, fundraising and media relations. The group has provided care for conditions like thalassemia and helped refugees with prosthetic limbs. Issues witnessed among refugees include shortages of medical supplies and unsafe shelter conditions.

1.
Last
updated
June
2014
HEAL*
Who are we?
A group of individuals (the majority being medical students and doctors) have
founded a volunteer team to study the medical needs of refugees and provide them. It
started Feb 2013 by two medical students after a field trip to Jordan and realizing the
need of a specialized medical help.
*This is an independent group, not affiliated with any political party or charity
organization.
What is our vision?
The group has two main goals that are further divided into smaller subgoals.
1) Providing Medical Aid:
This will be provided in the form of actual medical aid to those injured in war, and to
tackle the other underrated and ignored conditions in refugees such as deliveries,
diabetes, and heart disease. Medical aid will also be in the form of assisting medical
students to get into colleges where they can complete their medical studies and work
to treat war victims themselves.
2) Spreading Awareness:
This includes campaigns and events that bring the refugee crisis to the general public
and to display the reality of it with numbers facts and studies done by the group with
the help of public health physicians. Social networking is also another way of
spreading awareness. For example a blog that that talks about personal stories and war
victims.
How do we operate?
Executive
Committee
Field
Volunteers
External
Relations
Social
Affairs Research Media Financials
and
Donations

2.
Last
updated
June
2014
Executive Committee:
• Consists of consultant physicians and initial group members
• Supervise each committee and provides input and guidance.
• These members have either medical experience or refugee aid experience.
• They are also responsible for the organization of sessions for field volunteers on
Field volunteers:
• Members in this committee will travel to Syrian borders through Jordan, Turkey or
Lebanon to provide medical aid and distribute donations.
External relations:
• This committee will be in contact with physicians and relief programs in refugee
camps and hospitals to know precise medical needs.
Social affairs:
• Responsible for organizing fundraising events and events that help spread
awareness.
Research:
• Members will conduct studies to study prevalence and magnitude of various medical
issues faced by refugees, such as the spread of certain infection so that proper
treatment is allocated to most relevant conditions.
Media:
• This committee will deal with spreading awareness through videos and pictures.
They will have contact with news agencies and magazines, while also managing the
blog.
Financials & donations:
• They will work as a treasurer collecting donations and allocating specific amounts
for relevant relief projects.

3.
Last
updated
June
2014
Some of the participating doctors:
• Dr. Hind AlMazeedi (Family Medicine)
• Dr. Luqman (Epidemiology)
• Dr. Muath AlAnbae (Cardiology)
• Dr. Kamal AlShoumar (Endocrinology)
• Dr. Abdulrahman AlFailkawi (Surgery)
• Dr. Ahmad Ramadhan (Emergency Medicine)
• Dr. Jumana Shamsaldeen (Dentistry)
• Dr Fatma AlEisa (Dentistry)
What problems did we see?
Based on our recent trip to refugees in Jordan this past February, we have witnessed a
number of issues that we hope to tackle through the workings of this group. These
problems are discussed below:
• Shortage of medical supplies & drugs
- This not only affects those injured in the war itself, but also those suffering
from chronic diseases, e.g. diabetes, heart disease, etc.
- There is also a shortage of these essentials in the refugee camps/homes as
well as in the hospitals, i.e. this is a major problem affecting all refugees of all
ages.
Membership to Heal:
Open to ANYONE! but more specifically health care professionals
as well as those with previous volunteer experience in the field of
refugee aid.
We also have doctors from KSA as well as medical students in
Paris who have expressed interest in joining the Heal group.

4.
Last
updated
June
2014
• Refugee homes are overcrowded
- This creates an issue as materials are not enough to cover the
necessities of all families living in the home.
- There is a shortage in key dietary supplies
• AlZaatri refugee camp
- One issue was the shelter:
- The tents provided proved to be unsafe, and can combust and fall easily.
They offered no protection against the cold winds.
- We would like to shift towards providing caravans instead of tents to avoid
the aforementioned issues (need government’s assistance)
- Huge numbers living there, causing numerous shortages:
- Shortage of baby formula, diapers, other daily necessities
- Deficiency in the medical supplies
- Unsanitary waters (refugees complained of the water being salty)
• Medical students
- Students have lost their certificates and official documents as they fled from
their houses.
- Their education has been on hold for two years now.
- We would like to make it possible for them to pursue their learning in other
universities.
- Make it possible to equate their degrees, allowing them to practice in other
countries.
• Field hospitals
- A contact of ours from inside Syria has been able to purchase a field hospital
in order to treat the fighters. With our help, they hope to pack it with the
needed medical supplies. (the next page includes a copy of the email
requesting specific supplies for this hospital)
Our Recent Projects:
1. Thalassemia: This is an ongoing project which aims to treat refugees with
thalassemia, which is a form of chronic hemolytic anemia. Patients with
thalassemia require frequent blood transfusion to live, and also iron chelating
agents to prevent some of complications of blood transfusions. Part of Heal's
family clinic in Lebanon is set up is to ensure that these patients get the care
they need .

5.
Last
updated
June
2014
2. Prosthetic Limbs: This project aims to help the refugees who
have lost their limbs in the war. This way, not only are the
patients getting treated, but also they gain back their
independence and ability to function normally.
3. Medical Aid: This project aims to help refugees in critical conditions, which
the United Nations do not cover. Emergencies like broken bones are included.