We invite you to view The Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem Program 2012 Annual Report!

In 2012, the LWF Jerusalem Program continued its service for peace by providing healthcare and economic opportunities to the most vulnerable in society. The pages of the 2012 Annual Report tell the stories of countless individuals whose lives were touched by the work of the LWF Jerusalem Program. Thousands of patients traveled from all across the West Bank and Gaza to receive life-saving treatment at Augusta Victoria Hospital. Syrian refugees in Jordan received warm clothing and shelter for a harsh winter through the LWF’s emergency response. Unemployed youth received quality training and hope for a better future through the LWF’s Vocational Training Program.

Many thanks go to all who supported the LWF’s work in 2012!

Click here to download the 2012 Annual Report and read about Augusta Victoria Hospital’s new Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Care Center and the Vocational Training Program’s newly opened catering, craftwork, and vocational secretary departments. Culinary enthusiasts out there will also want to check out Dr. Tawfiq Nasser’s recipe for traditional Palestinian lentil soup and garden salad, featuring the key ingredient of Jerusalem’s finest olive oil from the LWF’s Mount of Olives campus!

If you would like a print copy, please send your full name and mailing address to info@lwfjerusalem.org.

From left: Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary; Rev. Dr Margaretha Hendriks-Ririmasse, vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee; Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the WCC Central Committee; Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan; and Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima; vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee, after the WCC Executive Committee vote.

The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) meeting near Geneva at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey voted to approve the full membership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) in the WCC.

The approval ended a two-year process in which both the Executive Committee and Central Committee of the WCC considered the application of the ELCJHL. During this period, visits to the churches in Jerusalem and discussions with other member churches in the area took place.

“The ELCJHL widely identifies with ministries of the World Council of Churches,” Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan of the ELCJHL, said in a brief speech to the Executive Committee after the vote, pointing to their support of the Jerusalem Inter-church Centre, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel and the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum.

“We are honoured to serve God’s will through the essential ministries of the World Council of Churches,” Younan said. “The ELCJHL supports these ministries … because they show our people in Jerusalem, The Holy Land, and Jordan that their Christian sisters and brothers around the world stand with them, accompanying them in their sorrows and in their joys.”

Younan said, “in this age of globalization, we join with the churches in the world around us to be instruments of peace, harbingers of justice, initiators of dialogue.”

“The ELCJHL is richly blessed by the accompaniment we have received through this ecumenical body, and we hope that we have returned some of that goodness to you,” he said.

The ELCJHL, with its origins in 19th century missionary activity in the Holy Land, is made up of congregations in Amman, Jerusalem, Ramallah and the Bethlehem area. An updated count of WCC member churches will come after the WCC 10th Assembly being held in Busan, Republic of Korea, 30 October to 10 November, 2013.

Original post can be viewed here: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1634/church-in-jordan-and-the.html

© LWF/Thomas Ekelund

LWF Jordan is assisting over 10,000 of the 70,000 Syrian refugees living in Za’atri and King Abdullah refugee camps. In the framework of the ACT Appeal SYR 121 and several bilateral agreements, approximately 1.8 million EUR has been mobilized to buy more than 300 prefabricated container-type shelters for especially vulnerable refugee families, providing better shelter against the elements than the standard issue tents. The LWF also distributed 2,200 gas heaters and gas cylinders, winter clothing for 10,000 children, shoes, and more than 2,200 tent winterization kits to build entry porches to the tents, to provide additional shelter and warmth for the families. As the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan is rising dramatically following further deterioration of the security and livelihood situation in Syria, the LWF is stepping up its fundraising and operational efforts. (LWF – Department for World Service)

AVH provides the most advanced cancer care for patients in Palestine using state-of-the-art equipment. © LWF/Mark Brown

View original posting of this article here.

February 4^th marks World Cancer Day. The United Nations sets aside this date to highlight the world’s continuing challenges in the fight against cancer. This year’s World Cancer Day theme focuses on Target 5 of the World Cancer Declaration: Dispel damaging myths and misconceptions. Misconceptions about cancer are especially prevalent in Palestine, where cultural stigmas often prevent the proper diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Although chronic conditions have replaced communicable diseases as Palestine’s biggest medical concern, the culture and infrastructure needed to diagnose and treat cancer has not caught up. Cancer is the third leading cause of death in Palestine, trailing only cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and accounts for 11 percent of all deaths. Cancer is rarely diagnosed in the early and treatable stages of the disease. In Palestine, 42 percent of cancer cases were not caught until they had spread locally (Stage III) and 18 percent until they had spread throughout the body (Stage IV).  Delays in diagnosis and treatment are partially the result of a lack of advanced equipment and trained healthcare professionals who can provide a comprehensive examination and diagnosis.

Late cancer diagnoses also stem from cultural obstacles to early cancer detection and treatment in Palestine. For example, religious and cultural barriers are significant factors that prevent Palestinian women from accessing mammograms, which are used for early breast cancer detection (One study found that more than 70% of women in the West Bank had never had a mammogram). As film producer Saed Andoni explains, “It’s very taboo to speak about the woman’s body in Palestinian society.”  Andoni produced “Fatenah,” Palestine’s first commercial animated film, which profiles a female character from Gaza who faces numerous obstacles to accessing treatment for breast cancer.

While the societal challenges facing cancer treatment in Palestine will take a long time to overcome, there are already organizations working to mitigate the problems associated with a lack of equipment and trained personnel. One of ACP’s partners, Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in Jerusalem, is making great strides in this area. AVH has created the most advanced oncology department in Palestine, which houses medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology units. Each year, the hospital performs almost 10,000 sessions of radiation oncology and at least 9,600 chemotherapy sessions. Thanks to a grant from USAID, the hospital recently purchased a $4.9 million medical linear accelerator to help treat the cancer patients, making it the first hospital with radiation therapy for Palestinian population.

AVH does not only treat the residents of Jerusalem, but also provides services across Palestine. Close to 30 percent of all cancer treatments are for patients from Gaza, who are housed in a hospital-rented hotel room for the duration of their treatment. As Amira Juha, AVH’s Deputy CFO explains, AVH provides an unparalleled level of treatment for Palestinian cancer patients: “There is a profound human dimension to our work that makes me so proud to oversee its development projects. Everything we do is focused on serving our patients and building an institution that embodies Palestinian excellence in East Jerusalem.”

This World Cancer Day, support Augusta Victoria Hospital’s work for a cancer-free Palestine.

• $25 will help fund a birthday party for a child in the cancer center or kidney care center
• $40 can pay for a breast mammography for a woman in a remote village through the mobile mammography unit
• $50 can sponsor an end-of-treatment party for a child with cancer
• $500 can provide a small piece of medical equipment for children with cancer and leukemia for medications infusion
• $800 can sponsor a hotel room for a Gaza cancer patient undergoing treatment at AVH

-by Patrick Fogerty, American Charities for Palestine

“A month ago, we stood together on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, on the grounds of the Augusta Victoria Hospital. This medical facility is a Palestinian model of excellence for cancer treatment and is only a few miles from the rest of the West Bank, yet Palestinians face enormously complicated Israeli permit requirements simply to access care.

From the hospital’s vantage point we looked over vast Israeli settlements spreading across the West Bank, as well as the wire fences, high walls and roads that increasingly separate the Jewish and Arab populations.”

Click here to read the full article.

Appeal for Immediate Resumption of Negotiations for Broader Peace

GENEVA, 22 November 2012 (LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has welcomed the ceasefire over Gaza reached yesterday, and is urging all parties to honor it and immediately resume negotiations towards a broader peace between Israel and Palestine.

In a statement today by LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, the LWF said that the recent conflict has cost innocent human lives and injuries on both sides. The need for a broader peace is urgent, they said.

Younan is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.

The ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls Gaza, was announced on 21 November in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after a week of cross-border violence including rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, and Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

United Nations (UN) teams in Gaza reported that around 140 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians; another 900 were injured; while nearly 10,000 people were displaced. Five Israelis died in the violence and more than 200 were wounded.

The LWF reiterated its call for an immediate lifting of the economic blockade against the Gaza Strip, urged international efforts to relieve the suffering there and appealed to all parties to refrain from violent or provocative actions.

“The humanitarian situation facing the 1.6 million people living in Gaza is dire. Children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people have been bearing the brunt of the conflict,” the LWF leaders said.

Younan and Junge stressed the urgent need for a broader peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians, saying the continued failure to resolve the decades-long conflict can only worsen the political and religious tensions in the region. “It will be no surprise if the voices of violence, militancy, extremism, and intolerance get louder and louder, shouting out the voices of peace, reconciliation, moderation, and mutual respect,” they expressed with concern.

They reiterated LWF’s vision for the region which includes an end to the Israeli occupation; the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, with secure borders based on the 1967 demarcation lines; and for a shared Jerusalem for Jews, Christians and Muslims, as outlined in UN resolutions.

The LWF leaders called upon the Palestinian political movements Fatah and Hamas to negotiate their differences in order to reach a unified Palestinian position. They emphasized the need for “mutual respect and dignity” between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, and encouraged the Gaza ceasefire mediators especially Egypt and the Quartet (UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States) to redouble their efforts for a broader peace.

The president and general secretary urged LWF member churches and all people of faith to pray for healing, comfort and charity for those affected, and for wisdom and moderation for leaders on all sides of the dispute. (490 words)

The full text of the joint statement by the LWF President and the General Secretary can be found on the LWF web site.

Original post can be viewed here: http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/president-and-general-secretary-urge-parties-to-honor-gaza-ceasefire.html

JERUSALEM 19 November 2012

As the impact of days of violent escalation worsens for civilians in Gaza and in Israel, a group of 44 aid and development agencies today urged world leaders to take swift action to enforce a ceasefire in order to protect civilian lives and infrastructure and prevent another widespread humanitarian disaster in Gaza brought on by a prolonged military confrontation.

The agencies said the international community must apply immediate pressure on the government of Israel to keep the crossings to Gaza open to allow in supplies of essential humanitarian aid and push all parties to the conflict to end violence and uphold their obligations under International Law.

“World leaders cannot sit by while civilian casualties in Gaza and Israel continue to mount,” said Nishant Pandey, Oxfam Country Director.

“We urgently need to enforce a cease fire. The present conflict threatens to perpetuate and worsen the humanitarian impact on Palestinian civilians in Gaza of over five years of Israeli blockade and the 2008-2009 Israeli military operation ‘Cast Lead’. It will only deepen despair, create more insecurity, and jeopardize chances for Israelis and Palestinians to reach a just and durable peace,” he said.

The agencies call comes as local health care partners and hospitals in Gaza have announced they are running out of essential drugs and medical supplies. As the escalating violence makes it difficult for partner organizations and local staff in Gaza to move around on the ground, the agencies said there were growing concerns about getting help to injured people and food and other necessities to people in need.

“Thousands of innocent people, including women and children, are in danger of being caught in the crossfire in the escalating violence between Israel and Hamas. We are urgently appealing to all sides, as well as to world leaders, to seek a political resolution and avoid the loss of any more human lives. If global leaders do not intervene, Gaza stands on the brink of yet another humanitarian crisis,” said Aleksandar Milutinovic, Mercy Corps Country Director, West Bank/Gaza.

Noting a number of civilian injuries and deaths over the past days, the agencies said that it was critical that the protection of civilians was prioritized by the parties to the conflict as outlined by International Humanitarian Law. They stressed that the protection of civilians extends to civilian infrastructure, as a number of homes have already been hit by strikes and shellings.

“Save the Children is deeply concerned by the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and Israel. Children are already among the dead – and as always, children bear the hardest burden during military conflict.  Save the Children urges all parties to end the violence immediately,” said Alex Schein Save the Children Country Director.

In calling for an end to the violence, the organizations stressed the need for the international community to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860, passed in March 2009, which outlined the conditions for a permanent ceasefire and a path to long term security for both sides.

“The failure to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860 has only re-fuelled a cycle of violence that now needs to be put to a permanent end. The international community has an obligation to act to protect civilians and there needs to be immediate pressure on all parties to the conflict to stop the fighting and start working towards peace,” said David Viveash, The Carter Center Field Office Director.

With 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza, around half of whom are children and around 50,000 of whom are elderly, still living under blockade, the organizations said another military operation would only increase the hardship faced by the people they work with.

“Civilians pay the greatest price when the international community fails to act. There are families that CARE and our Palestinian partners have worked with in Gaza who are still living amidst the rubble of their destroyed homes. It is critical that those with power to stop the conflict act now. The human costs of another military confrontation would be too high – the people of Gaza cannot afford to start rebuilding their lives all over again,” said David White, CARE Country Director.

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Action Against Hunger (ACF); ACPP; ActionAid; Care International; Caritas Jerusalem; Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) International; CPT; DanChurchAid (DCA); Diakonia; Emergency Water Sanitation and Hygiene Group (EWASH); Fondazione Terre des Hommes Italia ONLUS; Gruppo di Volontariato Civile (GVC); Handicap International; HelpAge International; Hilfswerk der Evangelischen Kirchen Schweiz (HEKS); Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC); Kvinna til Kvinna; Life for Relief and Development; Medecins du Monde France; Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP); medico international; Medicins du Monde Switzerland; Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Palestine/Israel Representatives; Mercy Corps; Movement for Peace; Norwegian Church Aid (NCA); Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA); Norweigian Refugee Council (NRC); Oxfam; Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH); Save the Children; Seba; Secours Islamique France; Solidaridad International; Terre des Hommes Switzerland; The Swedish Organization for Individual Relief; The Carter Center; The Lutheran World Federation (LWF); The Overseas NGO; War Child Holland; World Vision Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza

The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) is a coordinating body of more than 80 aid and development agencies working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. The 44 agencies that have signed on to this press statement are all members of AIDA. Quotes from individual agencies reflect their own agency’s position and are not the official position of all AIDA members.

Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of Augusta Victoria Hospital, speaks to a delegation of The Elders on the Lutheran World Federation’s campus in Jerusalem on October 22, 2012. The delegation was led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and included former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson as well as former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization Gro Harlem Brundtland. © LWF/Anna Johnson

A delegation from the group “The Elders” visited the Lutheran World Federation campus and Augusta Victoria Hospital on October 22, 2012. The delegation was led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and included former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson as well as former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), and Rev. Mark Brown, the Regional Representative of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem and the Middle East, received the guests and spoke about the work of the Lutheran World Federation in areas of education and health, as well as the issues of access to healthcare facing Palestinians.

A delegation from the group The Elders, led by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, visited Augusta Victoria Hospital’s medical linear accelerator. © LWF/Anna Johnson

Dr. Nasser and Rev. Brown emphasized the role of Augusta Victoria Hospital as a specialty care facility providing access to treatment for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. The delegation visited the $4.9 million medical linear accelerator provided by USAID and housed in a radiation-safe facility built with support from the Norwegian Government, as well as the hospital’s Specialized Center for Child Care, where they met young Palestinian children receiving dialysis or cancer treatment at AVH.

In a statement on The Elders website about their visit, Prime Minister Brundtland stated: “As a medical doctor, I was particularly affected by our visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian model of excellence for the entire region which faces enormous difficulties in treating those people nearest to it from the West Bank – never mind Palestinians from Gaza – due to Israeli travel restrictions. It tragically illustrates the direct human impact of the present deadlock.”

The Lutheran World Federation is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF now has 145 member churches in 79 countries all over the world representing over 70 million Christians. The Lutheran World Federation Department for World Service (DWS) is the relief and development arm of the LWF. Drawing on a firm commitment to uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed, DWS works in 32 countries with local and international partners to alleviate suffering, combat injustice and poverty, and lay the foundation for a life in dignity for all. The LWF is a founding member of the ACT alliance (Action by Churches Together).

Rev. Mark Brown discusses the work of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson on a tour of the LWF’s Jerusalem campus and Augusta Victoria Hospital. © LWF/Anna Johnson

The School of Hope’s Al-Raja Folkloric Dance Troupe gives an enthusiastic performance for the LWF delegation visiting the West Bank school in late September 2012. © LWF/Thomas Ekelund

Lutheran Schools Provide Holistic Education in an Interfaith Context

RAMALLAH, West Bank/GENEVA 4 October 2012 (LWI) – Michael Abu Ghazaleh is one proud principal. “The School of Hope provides top-quality education to all students, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or ability to pay tuition fees,” he says of the Evangelical Lutheran School of Hope in Ramallah, one of the top five in the West Bank. The majority of the students at the school are Muslims, an indication that Christian schools are an important part of the educational system in the occupied Palestinian territories.

But the school is not all about studies and results. Georgette is 17 years old and a year away from graduation. “I love this school, it’s my second home,” she says smiling. Georgette is a member of the school’s Al-Raja Folkloric Dance Troupe, of which about 15 students performed two dances when a delegation from The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) visited the school on the 29 September.

The dance style in Arabic is Dabke, meaning “stomp,” and is probably the most accurate way to describe the flying dance. Almost 50 high school students come together after class to practice the traditional dance and their passionate performance reveals their love for the dance. Seventeen-year-old Ahmad says the group’s name Al-Raja, which means hope in Arabic, is more than a name. “We are a strong people, and giving up hope is giving up living,” says Ahmad, who wants to go to Germany to study. “But I will always come back to live here,” he adds.

Expanding Facilities and Quality Education

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hope, one of the six congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), was founded in the mid 1950s as Palestinian refugees fled to the Ramallah area after the war. The School of Hope began in 1965 as a kindergarten with ten students and two teachers, and graduated its first class of three students in 1979. The school has since been serving the greater Ramallah area and continues to grow. It is currently serving more than 450 students—comprising 20 percent Christians and 80 percent Muslims.

And the constant expansion has led the European Union (EU) to fund construction of a 4,000 square meter building that will accommodate around 500 students, who are now located in the old campus. The new school campus is expected to be ready in 2013 when it will be handed over to the church. The construction of the new campus comes as a result of the EU’s continuous support to the Palestinian education sector not only by increasing the physical capacity of school buildings but also by developing the quality of education in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Palestinian Prime Minister Meets with Lutheran Leaders

Christians are a minority in Ramallah, but the Christian community is responsible for almost 30 percent of the educational system in the West Bank. The school “is a model in the community of cooperation and tolerance among its diverse students,” principal Ghazaleh says. The school offers extra curriculum activities including an English club, sports teams, scout troops, an information and computer technology unit, and the renowned dance group that performs both locally and abroad.

“As Palestinian Christians we have always considered ourselves to be an integral part of the fabric of our society, and that means we have a role to play in education and in societal issues in our country,” said ELCJHL Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan, also LWF President.

Younan said the mission of the ELCJHL schools was to prepare young Palestinian women and men to build their state. “We teach our students to respect human rights—especially women’s rights—to respect freedom of religion and to dialogue with other religions. We emphasize peace education in our schools, and the right for each and every person to live in dignity,” added the ELCJHL bishop who had previously served as pastor of the Ramallah congregation.

The importance of Christian education was also a subject when the LWF delegation met with the Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Dr Salam Fayyad. The premier noted that the role of Palestinian Christians in Palestinian society was indispensable, and urged encouragement for their efforts.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Fayyad said the aim of the Palestinian Authority is to end the Occupation by peaceful means, with a viable two-state solution that recognizes East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State. He expressed concern about pressure on the presence of Christians and their diminishing population in the region.

During the meeting with the premier, LWF General Secretary Martin Junge reiterated the crucial role the Christian communities play in the region through their institutions.

“The importance of the Lutheran schools in the Palestinian context became evident again in the conversation with the Palestinian Prime Minister,” Junge said after the meeting. “I was pleased that the Prime Minister brought up the issue and the importance of the Christian presence among the Palestinians, as a matter of identity for the Palestinian people,” he added.

(Written for LWI by Thomas Ekelund in the West Bank)

Original post can be viewed here: http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/school-hope-west-bank.html

(left to right) LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge and Rev. Mark Brown, LWF/DWS Middle East Program representative, talk with AVH pediatric nurse Shadja Nasser. © LWF/Thomas Ekelund

LWF–Run Hospital and Vocational Training Centers Reach Out to Palestinians

EAST JERUSALEM/GENEVA, 1 October 2012 (LWI) – The Mount of Olives, a mountain ridge east of Jerusalem’s Old City in East Jerusalem, serves as the footing for the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) and the ultra modern medical services provided here.

Nadia is only five years old, but she is familiar with the corridors and staff at the AVH, a health institution run by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Her father does not want her picture taken or her real name used, but he willingly says that without the treatment Nadia gets at AVH, she would not be alive. Her kidney is not working properly, so she needs to come to the hospital three times a week for dialysis.

“The hospital bussing [bus transport] program helps us to assert the right to the treatment that Nadia so desperately needs,” he says.

No other hospital in the occupied Palestinian territories offers pediatric kidney dialysis. In addition, the AVH Cancer Care Center is the only radiation oncology facility operating in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Ear, nose and throat surgery, adult and pediatric kidney treatment, and pediatric oncology are a few examples of the specialized services available at the hospital, services that are not easily accessible or are unavailable in other hospitals in the occupied Palestinian territories.

A Beacon of Hope

When an LWF delegation comprising the President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge visited the hospital on 29 September, Shadja Nasser was on the day shift as a nurse in the pediatric ward. The message that Junge conveyed to her and other staff was clear: “The Augusta Victoria Hospital is owned by the whole LWF communion. That means 143 member churches in 79 countries all over the world, representing more than 70 million Christians. The work of the hospital staff is a beacon of hope and what it represents for the entire communion cannot be overestimated,” he said.

The LWF general secretary stressed that the AVH plays a key role in defending the right of patients and humanitarian staff to access vital healthcare facilities in Jerusalem. It helps to promote and protect the right to human dignity, particularly in the face of checkpoints and walls that weigh heavily on the most vulnerable in society, he added. Today, the hospital and its village outreach program are crucial in the Holy Land.

The general secretary said that through donations and support of churches, organizations and individuals, AVH tries to ensure that anyone needing treatment at the health institution will be cared for. Most of the patients are referred to the hospital by the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees.

The Augusta Victoria building was converted into a hospital for Palestinian refugees in 1948 and continues to serve Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The LWF was registered as the owner in 1950 and has since been called upon to assist the UN in meeting the often overwhelming needs of the refugee population.

”The AVH is an embodiment of the LWF’s vision to be a communion in Christ, freed to work together for a just, peaceful and reconciled world. The medical services at the hospital are accessible to everyone needing them, regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender, or ability to pay,” Junge added.

Vocational Training Program

The LWF delegation also visited the LWF Vocational Training Center in Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem, which since 1949, has been helping to empower young men and women. This year there are over 600 students taking advantage of the training provided at the centers in Beit Hanina and Ramallah and the short courses held in various locations in the West Bank. Training programs are offered in carpentry, auto-mechanics, metalwork, plumbing and heating, and electronics. The LWF is in the process of adding courses in handicrafts and catering.

Students at the centers come from Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, and from towns and villages all over the West Bank. The program strives, as part of its Christian witness, to promote reconciliation and understanding among all people.

The unemployment rate among young people aged 18 to 24 is almost 40 percent. Despite these disappointing figures, recent surveys by the LWF’s vocational training program show that 75 to 80 percent of those graduating from the LWF-run centers are employed in areas related to their training.

Junge noted that the vocational training program serves as a witness of the crucial role of churches as part of civil society. He encouraged governmental agencies to recognize the importance of education as means of empowering young people as full citizens who help to build society. (793 words)

(Written for LWI by Thomas Ekelund in East Jerusalem)

Original post can be viewed here: http://www.lutheranworld.org/lwf/index.php/avh-patients-dignity.html