Context: A never-ending conflict

Born more than 73 years ago in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict is still unresolved, condemning 15 million Israelis and Palestinians to live together in a context of violence that continues to escalate.

The political situation is explosive between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas Movement, while deprivation, terror and insecurity are harshly felt by the population.

In the West Bank, the growing number of settlements followed by closures and restrictions on movement are increasingly suffocating the inhabitants of this territory, already penalised by the heavy dependence of their economy on Israel and by a high unemployment rate.

The demolition of homes and infrastructure also has long-term economic implications for families and communities.

And the pandemic has hit the Palestinian territories hard: "With the arrival of Covid-19, the entire city of Bethlehem, which depends mainly on tourism, has been closed and more than 85% of the inhabitants have lost their main source of income. Sr Francisca

Suffering from political and economic instability, the population is also deprived of social protection and suffers from a deficient health system, these realities affecting mainly the disadvantaged inhabitants.

In Bethlehem, the Daughters of Charity work on the ground every day

The Daughters of Charity arrived in Bethlehem in 1886 and built a hospital and a nursery for abandoned children born out of wedlock. The hospital was closed during the war but the children's home still operates today.

The sisters continue their mission by targeting the poorest of the poor. Due to the deteriorating political and socio-economic situation in the region and the lack of a social welfare system, they decided to establish the social services sector in Bethlehem in 1999.

The project: medical aid to help the inhabitants survive physically and psychologically

Between fighting and bombing, poverty, unemployment and lack of security, the situation is very difficult for the inhabitants. They have very limited access to basic services and to the outside world.

Health services in the occupied Palestinian territory face chronic shortages of medical supplies.

"The physical separation of Gaza and then East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank limits the size of the Palestinian market and prevents exports and imports." Flavia Andon, Head of Social Service Department

Project objectives: To help preserve the physical and mental health of traumatised residents of Bethlehem

This medical support project will provide medicines, especially for chronic diseases (diabetes, heart problems). In addition, it will support operations that cannot be performed in public facilities due to the urgency of the case and the long waiting list in public hospitals.

"Here we refer patients to medical centres where a certified doctor makes the diagnosis and decides on the treatment. As social workers, we also provide counselling and education to families and individuals with serious health problems. We also make sure that the doctor's protocol is followed by the patient and thus avoid hospitalisation" said Flavia Andon

"Ahmad is 16 years old and suffers from diabetes. He lives with his mother, father and three brothers in a village east of Bethlehem.
We have been helping him since he was 5 years old to get his treatment, which is not available without our intervention."

Your donations will help :

- Provide treatment and distribute medicines to 80 poor and sick children, women and elderly people

- Cover operations for sick people

- Follow-up home visits

- Provide psychosocial support to beneficiaries

The beneficiaries

The project targets mainly women and childrens, as well as the elderly. It will also benefit single people with no source of income who suffer from chronic diseases and have no resources to meet their needs.

30 elderly people suffering from chronic diseases will receive medication adapted to their pathologies every month.

50 women and children will have access to this assistance and those suffering from diabetes will also receive our help in the form of medication and in-kind support.

Thank you very much for your support,

With them, thanks to you!