Ahli Arab Hospital

Gaza

The Gaza Strip is an area of 93 square miles, surrounded on three sides by Israel and facing onto 20 miles of beautiful, unspoiled Mediterranean beach. Its gorgeous beachfront hides the fact that Gaza is one of the most densely populated and poorest strips of land on the planet. The average age of the population is about 18, mostly unskilled, unschooled and 99% Muslim.

Unemployment in Gaza normally runs at 60% or more. About 80,000 men seek daily employment in Israel. They leave before dawn by bus, crossing a no-man's land of searches and identity card checks by Israeli soldiers. They return after dark through the same process. Whenever tensions mount in Israel, this border is slammed closed and the working men from Gaza cannot leave to go to work and earn a meager income. Shortage of food supplies makes malnutrition a very real problem in Gaza. Most Gazans don't have insurance, or a job and can hardly afford to seek medical care unless it is a serious need.

Ahli Arab Hospital, established in 1882, continues to be a significant institution in terms of Christian presence in the area. In the words of Bishop Samir Kafity, Anglican Bishop of the Jerusalem Diocese, the hospital is "a possession of love - transmitting care and then healing ministry to the sick and suffering." Under the leadership of Suhaila Tarazi, Hospital Director, the hospital continues to provide the finest in medical and surgical care possible to Gaza's 850,000 residents. They saved hundreds of lives during the Intefada years, and now they are trying to meet Gaza's medical needs today.

The Ahli Arab Hospital is under the jurisdiction of the Council of Jerusalem Diocese of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East with an agreement among major Protestant denominations including the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The United Nations Relief and Works Agency also provides resources. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) assists the hospital through Extra Commitment Opportunities Account # 862371 and with funds from the Medical Benevolence Foundation.

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