Caritas Baby Hospital
Where are they?
What do they do?
Who benefits?
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Bethlehem
Work to improve access to medical support and supplies, and to fight poverty and disease through education and early intervention.
Over 30,000 children each year |
More Information:
Founded: 1952
Beginnings:
Standing outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as the bells rang out for Christmas, Father Ernst Schnydrig, a Swiss priest working with Caritas Switzerland to help war refugees in Palestine, watched as a refugee father buried his child. The child had died of hunger, and Father Schnydrig was deeply affected by the incident. He rented two rooms in a nearby house and installed 14 cots to form the nucleus of what he confidently called the Caritas Baby Hospital.
Activities:
Caritas Baby Hospital is operated by Children’s Relief Bethlehem, and focuses on five key areas:
- Medical Aid Child mortality in the West Bank is significantly higher than in Europe. The Hospital believes every child should have access to medical care and the right to thrive.
- Social Work In partnership with the families, social workers look for sustainable solutions. They support families at the hospital, where there are facilities for mothers to stay with their sick children, and at home, with assistance that goes beyond medical health care.
- School for Mothers Courses are provided for new mothers which focus on baby care, hygiene and preventative health care.
- Nursing College In a society with such strong cultural currents, it can be difficult for women to learn a profession in addition to their role as mothers and housewives. Since 1970, the Hospital has been training local women as nurses.
- Project Work Children's Relief Bethlehem is also active in the region supporting projects that focus on medical care, health care and education for children, mothers and families.
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