A Mother’s Hope for Her Two Sons During Our Hardest Time

I am Ilham, a mother struggling alone to support my two severely ill sons. I am raising funds to cover urgent living and medical costs for my eldest son on dialysis in the UK, and asthma medications for my youngest in Morocco. Your support will provide essential food, transport, and treatments we can no longer afford.

My name is Ilham, and I am a mother of two sons. I am the sole financial provider and caregiver for my two sons. Their father does not provide financial support for their medical or daily needs, and I have therefore been carrying the full responsibility for both of my sons on my own. Today, I am reaching out with humility and hope during one of the most difficult periods my family has ever experienced.
* My eldest son — a young man living with kidney failure in the United Kingdom :
My eldest son is a young man suffering from severe kidney failure. He is currently in the United Kingdom. Before becoming seriously ill, he was working there and trying to build an independent life for himself. He was working, supporting himself, and looking toward his future.
Unfortunately, after he developed kidney failure, his employment contract came to an end and was not renewed. He is now completely unemployed and has no income of his own. His life depends on regular dialysis sessions and ongoing medical care. Our greatest hope is that he will eventually reach the stage where he can receive a kidney transplant, giving him the opportunity to live a more stable and independent life.
I am deeply grateful that he has access to essential healthcare services in the United Kingdom, including dialysis. However, medical treatment is only one part of what a person in his situation needs. He still needs food, accommodation, transportation to medical appointments, and other essential everyday necessities. The cost of living in the United Kingdom is very high, and being unemployed while living with a serious chronic illness has left him in an extremely vulnerable financial situation.
As his mother, one of my greatest wishes is to be able to support him financially while he continues his treatment there, so that he can live with some stability and dignity while waiting for the possibility of a kidney transplant. The photographs included with this fundraiser show my son during his dialysis treatment, including the dialysis machine and medical equipment used during his sessions. His face has been blurred to protect his privacy.
* My younger son — a teenager living with severe asthma :
My younger son is still a teenager and also lives with a chronic health condition: severe asthma. He needs regular medical examinations, asthma inhalers, medication, and continuous medical care. He also suffers from allergies to several foods, including seafood, which means that we have to pay particular attention to his diet and health.
The photographs included with this fundraiser also show some of the inhalers and medications that he uses as part of his ongoing treatment. His condition requires continuous attention and regular expenses. As the mother responsible for both of my sons, meeting these needs has become increasingly difficult.
* How our family reached this point :
I am a teacher, and I have worked hard to provide for my family and make sure that my sons receive the care and treatment they need. Over the years, however, I have had to take out loans and use almost all of my income to meet their medical and essential needs. Today, a very large part of my salary is consumed by these loan obligations and the financial burdens that have accumulated while I have been trying to support my family.
I took these loans because I had no other choice at the time. I was simply trying to make sure that my sons received their treatment, medication, food, and other basic necessities. I have supporting information and documentation relating to our circumstances, including medical and financial matters. I am sharing our story honestly because this is our real situation, and I am not exaggerating what my family is going through.
After years of trying to carry this responsibility on my own, I have now reached a point where I simply cannot keep up with these costs anymore. Our situation has become extremely difficult and unstable. I am responsible for supporting two sons with ongoing medical needs — one living abroad without an income and another here in Morocco who requires continuous medical care.
The costs of medication, medical examinations, transportation, food, and other basic necessities have become overwhelming for me. At this point, I no longer have the financial ability to provide my sons with even the minimum level of stability that I wish I could give them. Our situation has become so difficult that we have even reached the point where our family sometimes has only one very simple meal a day.
As a mother, it is incredibly painful to see my sons in need while knowing that I have already exhausted almost every possibility available to me. I have worked, borrowed money, and used my income for years trying to protect my sons and make sure they receive the care they need. I never imagined that I would one day have to ask people I do not know for help. But today, I have reached that point.
* Why I am asking for help :
After exhausting the possibilities available to me, I am now turning to the kindness and compassion of others. The main purpose of this fundraiser is to help my two sons meet their essential medical and living needs and to help our family regain a basic level of stability.
For my eldest son in the United Kingdom, the funds will help with his essential living expenses while he is unable to work, including:
* Food and basic necessities
* Accommodation and everyday living expenses
* Transportation to and from medical appointments
* Essential needs while he continues dialysis
* Other necessary expenses related to his situation while he waits for the possibility of a kidney transplant
For my younger son in Morocco, the funds will help with:
* Asthma inhalers and necessary medication
* Medical examinations and follow-up care
* Appropriate food given his allergies
* Other essential health-related needs
For our family as a whole, the funds will also help us obtain basic necessities that I am currently struggling to provide.
* The photographs and supporting evidence :
I understand that anyone who considers donating deserves to know that their help is going toward a genuine need. The photographs included with this fundraiser are personal photographs from my eldest son's dialysis treatment and photographs of the medications and inhalers used by my younger son.
I have blurred my eldest son's face in the photographs to protect his privacy. I am sharing these images only to provide an honest visual record of some of the circumstances described in this fundraiser. I also have supporting information and documentation relating to our medical and financial circumstances, and I am willing to provide appropriate evidence where necessary for verification. I want to be completely transparent: I am not asking for help based on an exaggerated story. I am asking because this is the reality my family is facing today.
* What I hope this fundraiser can achieve :
As a mother, from the bottom of my heart, I sincerely hope that this fundraiser will help create a real and meaningful improvement in our current situation. I hope it can help my eldest son continue his dialysis and live in the United Kingdom with greater stability while waiting for the possibility of a kidney transplant. I hope it can help my younger son continuously receive the inhalers, medication, examinations, appropriate food, and care he needs to manage his severe asthma. And I hope it can help me provide my family with food and basic necessities without constantly living with the fear that I will not be able to provide them.
My deepest wish is to see our situation gradually become more stable — to know that my son in the United Kingdom can continue his treatment and meet his essential living needs, that my younger son has continuous access to the care he needs, and that I can once again provide my family with a basic sense of security. I am not asking for a life of luxury or comfort. I am simply hoping for the chance to breathe again as a mother, to care for my sons without the constant fear of financial collapse, and to give both of them a safer and more dignified future.
* Every contribution matters :
Every contribution, no matter how small, can make a real difference. Even $5, $10, or $20 can help provide medication, food, transportation, medical examinations, or part of my eldest son's living expenses. If you are unable to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser can also mean a great deal to us. A single share could help our story reach someone who is able to help.
I have spent years trying to be strong for my family and carrying this responsibility on my own. Today, I am simply asking for a helping hand because I have reached the point where I can no longer do this alone. If you choose to support us, please know that your kindness will never be taken for granted. Your contribution will help a mother continue caring for her two sons during a period when our family has very little left to rely on.
* A small note from me :
I am Moroccan, and Arabic and French are the languages I am most familiar with and use in my daily life. English is not a language in which I can express my story easily or accurately. I therefore used assistance to translate and present my story clearly in English. I chose to share my story in English because I hope it can reach people beyond Morocco and give my sons and my family a greater chance of finding support during this extremely difficult time.
Everything described in this fundraiser reflects our real circumstances. My purpose in presenting it in English is simply to make our story accessible to as many people as possible around the world. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who takes the time to read our story, share this fundraiser, donate if you are able, or simply offer us your support. Every act of kindness, no matter how small, means more to us than I can express. Thank you for giving my family hope.