Prolonged curfews and closures prevented people from working or tending livestock and farms. Businesses closed and jobs were lost. Many families survive now only by begging. A recent Christian Aid report found that, due to the occupation, 75% of Palestinians now live on less than $2 a day, a quarter of the children are anemic, and these proportions increase steadily. UNICEF records that levels of malnourishment in parts of Palestine are now as severe as in the Congo and Zimbabwe.

Many people came to SCC for support. Certain poor families have always received regular free medical care and food from SCC, but the level of destitution is such that this year 45% of the patients could not pay for services and asked for food or medicines; others needed help with hospitalization and operations. We have been providing what we can, focusing mainly on the needs of children and women. During the second and third quarters of the year, when the pressure on our services was at its height due to the re-invasion, we experienced funding difficulties so severe that we had to borrow money to pay the staff’s salaries. We are intensely grateful to the individuals and organizations who came to our aid in this time of extraordinary need.

In these difficult times, a slender hope is provided by the increasing co-operation that is taking place between Palestinian organizations in all fields. Arising in the first place to make maximum use of insufficient human and material resources, it has transcended the solely practical and demonstrates the resourcefulness and humanity of a people in adversity. In this context, SCC continues its regular close co-operation with East Jerusalem medical facilities, and other organizations, and continues to shoulder the responsibility it has been allocated for the psychological welfare of the wounded and bereaved of East Jerusalem, adults as well as children, in addition to one-off co-operative ventures.

It has been the commitment and resilience of the staff and the generous support of our donors that has made it possible to continue all our programs and we are grateful to them all.

All departments have been affected by the deteriorating situation:

Administration

There have been administrative difficulties. The bookkeeper, the director and the auditor live in different areas. Since travel is hazardous and often impossible, regular contact and co-ordination became extremely difficult. Moreover, banks and offices were closed for long periods by curfews and closures, and, when open, were so crowded that, more often than not, they were obliged to close again before many customers had succeeded in reaching the counters. This resulted in delays in payments, statements and reports, making it ever more difficult to implement projects. The problems involved in keeping programs running smoothly have put executive secretary Hyam Salameh under great pressure.

Medical Department

Fortunately the medical staff are mainly from Jerusalem area so the work of the clinic was not disrupted as much as in other departments. On the other hand, the acute shortage of medicines and vaccines in the West Bank impelled many West Bank families to try to make the difficult and sometimes dangerous journey to Jerusalem. Of those that succeeded, several suffered humiliation or worse in reaching SCC; most needed free treatment and vaccinations and many left with bags of food and clothes as well.

Mrs. Mary Franji, with her 54 years of service to the community and the Centre, has been at the heart of this.

Immense time was spent in trying to get free or cheap treatment elsewhere for impoverished patients if SCC could not provide it.

We remain deeply grateful to the Al-Madad Foundation for funding the salary of Dr. Sami Nabulsi, without whom there would have been no doctor as curfews, closures and roadblocks again prevented Dr. Jantien Dajani at certain times from reaching Jerusalem.

Psycho-Socio-Educational Department

Work in all sections of this department has been badly affected by the situation.

Renovation of the department and the establishment of a speech therapy unit, paid for by the Basque Government through Paz Y Tercer Mundo (PTM) were delayed for several months because neither materials nor workers could get to the center. It was all worthwhile, however, as the result is gratifying, with light, airy rooms for waiting and teaching.

Social Section
In addition to a vastly increased regular workload, during the re-invasion in March, April and May our social workers and other staff voluntarily manned a 24-hour counseling hotline. They also worked with our mothers’ committee to collect clothes, food and money for people who had lost homes and belongings, and in cooperation with other institutions to alleviate the suffering in the West Bank.

Staff participated in workshops for Conflict Resolution and trained others in the field. One of our social workers spent a dangerous week in Jenin after the invasion to help and counsel the traumatized survivors.

Trauma arising from danger, violence and bereavement are also a feature of life in Jerusalem. To help deal with it, and in addition to the regular 6-month courses in Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy for women, extra courses were arranged for the ever-increasing numbers of traumatized children, young adults and mothers.

A 3-month course for a small group of bereaved fathers provided them with the means of proper mourning and of relieving other feelings of anger, and often guilt that they had not been able to show their sons how much they loved them, not expecting them to be killed so suddenly. It has been an exhausting time for Shoushan Franji who organizes and gives these classes as she has to deal with the emotions released during sessions.

Adolescents are a neglected group in many poor communities, and Palestine is no exception. SCC has started an adolescents’ program in East Jerusalem schools in which classes of the 7th to 10th grades (ages 13 –16) will be tutored in special subjects not in the school curriculum, but of great importance and interest to this age group. Subjects include: all kinds of abuse, communication skills and relationships, human rights and democracy, psychological-emotional-physical-social changes in adolescence, environmental issues, further education, and violence. The students are also invited to SCC for therapeutic expressive arts sessions and other activities. Initially, about 30 schools in East Jerusalem will participate in this program.

Psychology Section
Galina Bargouth, our psychologist, has been under arbitrary house arrest in Bethlehem for several months this year. There is always a long waiting list for psychological assessment, as the need for the services of this department greatly (and increasingly) outstrips our ability to fulfill it. In spite of Galina putting in much extra work when released, delays in the treatment of children and in the counseling of parents have resulted. We need a second psychologist.

Fortunately the Play Therapy courses that are part of the psychological section continued normally, as the Play Therapy teacher lives in Jerusalem. Some of the children, however, could attend sessions only irregularly because of roadblocks. Despite this, the results of Play Therapy have been very good with most children integrating well in kindergarten or entering the elementary school curriculum afterwards.

Special Educational and Speech Therapy Section
The head of this section, Manal Al Ayaseh, is a resident of Deheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem and has also been under house arrest for protracted periods. Courses and programs were consequently delayed, but in this case it proved possible to make up lost time with extra hours and extension of courses, and again, nearly all children were successfully re-integrated into the normal school curriculum. A part-time teacher in Arabic Language joined the staff as part of the speech- and language-therapy section.

There are many children on the waiting list for speech therapy and special education courses. The violent situation has aggravated the learning and psychological problems of children. Christian Aid reports a 100% increase in patients, most of whom are children, in mental health clinics in Palestine since the outbreak of the Al Aqsa Intifada, though this probably greatly understates the true size of the problem. For SCC, this means that the problems we are dealing with are not only more numerous but also more severe, so children need extra hours or a second course, which in turn again increases the number of children on the waiting list. Another full time teacher is therefore badly needed.

Cultural Department

We owe thanks to the Parthenon Trust for a grant to expand the activities of this department and to emphasize the psychological counseling element in it. This allowed us to renovate an outside area and employ a social worker, Mithqal Jaber, as head of the department, responsible for organizing its many activities. He has great affinity with children and especially teenagers for whom he has devised special programs in coordination with the other employees who work with this age group. This has greatly facilitated the observation and counseling of many of the older children. Currently there is a group of 30 adolescents coming regularly to counseling sessions and other activities. From them, seven responsible young people have been chosen as leaders for the younger children.

There have been many activities such as sports, folk-dancing, acting and theatrical performances, reading and other library programs. Sometimes these take place in cooperation with other centers like the Al Ma’mal Arts Center which gave art classes to a group of 58 children, while many others were part of art workshops. It was amazing to witness their progress in painting and drawing and to see that there are so many talented children. An exhibition of their work took place in February 2003, to the extreme pleasure of both children and parents.

The dancing and theatre programs are also taking shape as children become more expert, performing sketches which they have often devised and written themselves. In a country with no tradition of volunteer work, we are proud of our helpful volunteer mothers who, in addition to many other functions and responsibilities at SCC, have sewn the costumes and helped make the props.

In the summer months 2 residential camps were organized; a 3-week camp for adolescents in July and a 3-week camp for younger children in August. In view of the often dangerous situation they did not make distant trips, but on several occasions they did go swimming for the whole day (an unprecedented experience for nearly all), and walks were organized to religious and historical sites in the city, to learn about their common cultural heritage. As the children come from different backgrounds it was good to see how interested they were. For most children of Muslim faith it was the first time they had entered a church, and for the Christians it was also often their first experience of a sacred Islamic place.

Staff

Work has not been easy when the circumstances of life have been so tense and full of frustration. Most of the staff are constantly worrying about families and relatives in danger on the West Bank, and many are, in addition, burdened with financial and social problems as they are caring for and supporting parents, siblings or other relatives in need.

For the staff living in the West Bank, the daily struggle to reach Jerusalem is beyond the imagination of those who do not experience it, frightening, and at times unsuccessful. Even Jerusalem staff, if male, are constantly harassed and detained by the Israeli security forces at the gates of the Old City.

Thanks to their commitment and perseverance it has been possible to continue all our programs, and expand some. We owe them more than words can say.

Planning for the Future

The future looks bleak and conditions are likely even to deteriorate further with the onset of war in Iraq. The pressure on resources will then become such that we will again need emergency funding to continue. In spite of this, SCC is determined to persevere, not only with the alleviation of present suffering, but also in reaching and helping more children, young people and women, and in preparing for better times. When it becomes possible again to travel freely on the West Bank, many thousands of children who need our services will become accessible. To deal with their problems, we must be ready to reach out and work together with institutions on the West Bank, sharing expertise. To do this, and even to keep up with present demand, we need to expand the Psychology, Educational and Speech Sections.

More staff is only part of it: there is also need for more space. We are therefore making plans for further renovation, and for enlarging the library area.

We are also working towards more cooperation with other organizations in cultural activities, especially in the specific fields of music, theatre and art.

The courses for adolescents in schools will expand and more schools will participate.

The room for Expressive Art Therapy urgently needs to be enlarged and sound-insulated; and we have hopes it can be executed this year.

The Medical Department needs upgrading and renovation. In addition to the regular clinic and infant welfare section, we intend to introduce more complementary medicine, as the complementary techniques we are presently providing have proved extremely successful. Space has to be created for the Complementary Medicine Clinic within the Medical Department.

The Administration also needs renovation of the premises, equipment and reorganization to make it more efficient. We hope that we will be able to implement this in 2003. Two of our administrative employees have been offered the opportunity to take a course in management, which we believe should help the smooth running of the whole center.

Please see our Help page if you would like to contribute to any of our programmes.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank all the people and organizations who have supported the work of SCC financially or otherwise.With special thanks to:

• The Parthenon Trust who gave vital support during our financial emergency, and in addition funded a Psycho-Social Counseling project in the Cultural Department.
  BibleLands UK who as well as their regular annual support also gave us an extra grant for the emergency situation.
• Mr. Abdul-Mohsen al Qattan for his generous donation at the time when we were in the most critical need.
• PTM who helped implement the project of the speech therapy section through a grant from the Basque Government.
• The British Consulate General in East Jerusalem for their funding of a Beginners Course in Expressive Arts Therapy for Women.
• The Karim Rida Said Foundation who supported the Play Therapy Program for two years.
• The American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem, for their regular financial support.
  James Howarth and Trevor Mostyn who raised 15000 British Pounds for SCC with their sponsored Bikathon through the length of England and Scotland.
• The Al Madad foundation for their ongoing support of the Medical Department.
• The Linbury Trust for their support of the Educational program.
• The UNDP who supported the summer camps.
• Pontifical Mission in Jerusalem for the purchase of medicines and medical equipment.
• Mrs Valentine Vester who asked for donations for SCC in lieu of presents on the occasion of her 90th Birthday.
• Mr. R.J. Tazelaar who has done the same on the occasion of his retirement.
• The Spafford Children’s Center Association for all their fundraising efforts in the USA.
• The Friends of the Spafford Children’s Centre for all their fundraising efforts in the UK.
• All the private donors who gave donations to SCC, either directly or through SCCA and FSCC.

We are extremely grateful to you all.
Also see reports on years 2000 and 2001.