The McCabe Educational Trust is responding to a heartbreaking appeal from the Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem with a donation of £5,000 offering immediate assistance to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. The hospital is an integral part of the work of the Diocese and a Christian witness to a  beleaguered community.     

We invite you to contribute to this urgent need.

The McCabe Educational Trust supports Christian leaders seeking to make a difference.  Suhaila Tarazi, Director of the hospital, fits this criteria perfectly and we are appealing for your help so that we can send her further help at this critical time.

The Al Ahli Arab Hospital is the oldest hospital in Gaza, established in 1882 by British Christian missionaries. It is also the only Christian healthcare institution in Gaza, where there are only about 1,500 Christians total in a population of 1.8 million.  The hospital is administered as part of the Diocese of Jerusalem and is entirely dependent on voluntary donations.

Hospital director Suhaila Tarazi says of the hospital’s mission,
“We are here as an instrument in the hands of God to show the love of Jesus Christ for all people. We are proud that in all conflicts, this hospital was there to eliminate the suffering of the injured, the poor, and to help those in need of a compassionate heart. This hospital will continue to be a place of reconciliation, of love. The history of this hospital tells the story that we are all children of one God, whether we are Christian, Muslim or Jew.”

Today, staff are struggling to cope with the casualties of the latest conflict. Suhaila affirms that this war has been the worst yet.  People are coming in with broken bones, multiple extensive burns and internal bleeding. She also said that more than before, patients have been the only remaining member of their family.

The trauma is unimaginable. Many are children.  The hospital is small, with a normal capacity for 50 beds.  Today, many extra beds have been installed and extra staff recruited. The shift pattern is 24 hours on followed by 24 hours off!  The hospital is short of medicine, medical supplies and fuel to operate the generators. There is no electricity. Many windows have been blown out from the force of nearby shelling and shrapnel has damaged the building, creating holes and cracks. Pieces of shrapnel entered some patients’ rooms, causing some to refuse to stay, deciding not even the hospital was safe.

As shocking as the number and intensity of the injuries are , Suhaila suggests that the needs will only grow: “There will be public health problems. We have a lot of cases of meningitis, related directly to the living situation of the people, also scabies and diarrhoea.  You see 1,000 or 1,500 living in one school. There is no proper water supply. There is no proper sewage.  Other needs are psychosocial. All aspects of life are affected. It will take a long time to restore normal life.”

Our prayer is that Suhaila’s hopes become a reality with a just and lasting resolution to this conflict.

 

How you can help

The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, Bishop Suheil, is challenging Christians worldwide to support the work and witness of the Christian community in Gaza at this difficult time. The McCabe Educational Trust is responding to the Bishop’s appeal and we invite you to join us.

All donations received will be sent to the Diocese of Jerusalem specifically for the work of the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza. If you giftaid your contribution, we will be able to add 25% to your donation.

Call with a credit card, post us a cheque or donate online.  All donations will be promptly sent with NO deductions for administration.

Call us on Freephone: 0800 107 3 107

or email:  alistair@mccabe-travel.co.uk 

To make an online donation now  please click here

 

For more than 25 years, the McCabe Educational Trust has been creating partnerships with inspiring people we have met on pilgrimage.

A special thank you to McCabe pilgrims who helped us raise £9,531.95 during July  making a total of £148,380.92 raised so far this year. For more information  about our work, do have a look at the Trust pages on the McCabe website.