A last-minute change in plans saw a Bath councillor and charity head take life-changing medical equipment to a small Palestinian girl in Bethlehem last week.
Councillor Martin Veal, chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council, and Peter Downey, chairman of the Bethlehem-Bath Links charity, were due to fly to Bethlehem last Tuesday for a four-day trip to forge business links with the Palestinian city near Jerusalem in Israel.
But the night before, they were told of the plight of two-year-old Torreen Sharayaa who suffers from a debilitating colonic condition that requires expensive single-use medical equipment that her family cannot afford. So Mr Veal and Mr Downey left Bath armed with nearly a month's supply of the equipment and delivered it to her family home in the village of Za'atara near Bethlehem on Friday.
Mr Veal, who had never visited Palestine before, was struck by the welcoming and trusting nature of Torreen's family and other Palestinians he met.
"Meeting Torreen was so touching and delightful. An innocent, charming and beautiful little girl, she was so trusting of us strangers.
"Helping her in this small way will make a big difference, however if we could provide her with a clean monthly supply it would change her life!"
The equipment Torreen needs to keep her free of pain and infection costs nearly as much as her father Mufareh earns each week as a taxi driver, so the family is reduced to washing and cleaning her "single-use only" baseplate and stoma bags.
Her supply will run out in less than three weeks. Mr Veal and Mr Downey are launching the Torreen Sharayaa fund shortly to raise money for the equipment for Torreen and fellow sufferers of Hirschsprung's disease who live outside Jerusalem.
To donate to the fund contact Peter Downey at communications@banes.com or visit www.justgiving.com/b-bl/
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