We visited Palestine Children's Relief Fund in Ramallah. Ramallah is the capitol for the Palestinian Authority. There are security divisions in Israel - area A is secured by Palestinians, area B is jointly secured, and area C is secured by Israelis.
The PCRF was started 20 years ago by Steve Sosebee from Ohio who was in Israel as a student and journalist. He met and married a woman in Jerusalem and they jointly built the organization.
They arrange for specialized doctors to come to Palestine to operate on economically disadvantaged children. Sometimes they pay for a child's airfare to fly out of the country for an operation. The doctors and hospitals donate their time and services. About 50-60% of the doctors come from the US and 80% of the doctors return to donate time again.
They partner with organizations to provide orthopedic shoes, wheel chairs, etc. to children whose families cannot afford them. They hire social workers who find people that don't have the resources to pay.
Steve's wife passed away from Leukemia four years ago. They built a wing at the Beit Jala Hospital (near Bethlehem) and named it in her honor.We neglected to take pictures with Steve in Ramallah.
These signs are often posted near check points and in Palestinian areas where Israelis build settlements.
No comments:
Post a Comment