Cultural Department

In 1999 SCC opened a new cultural department, in conjunction with the Japanese Volunteer Centre. What began as a library and a music room has expanded to include a monthly program of activities, and to become central to other SCC projects. Children participate in drama and movement classes, folk dancing, mime and clowning.

These activities have proved of immense help to many children with speech or educational problems. Competitions in drawing, quizzes, lectures and heritage outings have been popular, and children have been learning about the environment through practical activities relating to water conservation, recycling and urban cleanliness. In addition, residential courses, usually held during the summer holidays, go from strength to strength. The benefits reach far beyond offering enjoyment to children whose lives have become full of despair; they learn skills and gain knowledge which improve their relationships at home and their work at school.

In 2000, for the first time the summer camps were managed by mothers and youth leaders. Enabling a volunteering tradition to develop among mothers and adolescents has huge empowering potential for the local community, as well as reaching more children without employing more staff.

Identified by other SCC departments, or referred by schools, doctors, other clinics, families or even neighbors, children in Special Education receive psychological testing which enables staff to draw up individual programs of intensive treatment for each child. Their progress is constantly assessed, and the success of this department has been overwhelming, with a large majority of patients re-integrated into the educational system and improving their school performance. Although it has been expanded the waiting list is still heavily oversubscribed.

Thanks to donations from Premier Christian Radio and the Karim Said Foundation, SCC has recently equipped a 'Play Therapy Garden' for children up to 7 years old with retarded development or physical disabilities. These activities, under qualified supervision, allow them to enhance their motor control skills and co-ordination. In this and other developments, SCC is fulfilling its commitment and tradition of responding to demand from partner organisations and the community which it serves.

As the response of the Israeli army to the new Intifada has left many injured and killed, individual and group counselling for those affected have been expanded. Staff also visit many of the wounded and the bereaved families in their homes.

Special Education Department

Remedial help for those with learning difficulties, Arabic literacy classes and speech therapy are all provided at the Spafford Children's Center. These programs have been expanded as a result of a three-year grant from the UK National Lottery Charities Board. Special education has also made available for children with psychological problems, which are often be related to the political situation. Their anxieties are expressed in symptoms such as inability to perform adequately at school or behave normally at home. If their problems are ignored their symptoms persist and they risk educational failure, unemployment, and the likelihood of contributing to the cycle of violence in which they started as victims.

Preventative care has always been central to SCC's work. Each year over 20,000 babies are brought by their mothers, or occasionally but increasingly by their fathers, for routine checking and immunisation. An obstetrician holds weekly clinics for pregnant women; SCC staff provide advice, health education, practical help, ante-natal classes and instruction in child care, nutrition, first aid and other subjects on request. Children with problems are referred to the pediatric clinic, or to other departments within SCC.

In response to requests from patients, a social service department was started in 1987 to help families with problems caused by poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and by the political conflict. It works closely with other institutions and provides a range of services including individual and family counselling, home visits and instruction in life-skills. Group counselling for mothers to build their confidence has been so successful that it has been increased and extended to younger women and girls as well.

In 2000, workshops for expressive art therapy were initiated for women, adolescents and children. The impact of what children have witnessed or experienced vicariously is clearly visualized in their drawings. Guns, soldiers and blood dominate, along with the new elements such as tanks, bombs falling from helicopters and crying peace doves.

The Clinic is run by the Center's Director and Pediatrician, Dr. Jantien Dajani. It is open every day and children up to 18 years are brought in for examination. Nearly all can be dealt with within the Spafford Children's Center though more serious problems are referred to hospitals outside the Old City. In some children physical complaints are found to be symptomatic of psychological distress which can be helped, or cured, by SCC staff in other departments.