LWF president Bishop Henrik Stubkjær (left) and CEO of Augusta Victoria Hospital Dr Fadi Atrash (right) walk in conversation during a 5-November visit. Also pictured, LWF regional secretary Rev. Dr Rospita Siahaan (centre). Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Medical care and vocational training build resilience and hope
(LWI) – “As a global communion, we remain steadfast in our commitment to strengthening the presence and work of LWF World Service, supporting people in need here in the Holy Land,” said LWF President Bishop Henrik Stubkjær, who is in Jerusalem this week, visiting the LWF World Service program.
Part of a week-long stay in the Holy Land – which includes meeting representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, as well as partners and political representatives – the LWF President has visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem and seen the vocational training offered through the country program in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
With both a COVID-19 pandemic and the Gaza war in recent memory, Palestinian communities continue to live under the pressures of military occupation as well as increasing economic stress and hardship, both as local communities and as a society.
Even so, the LWF World Service program in Jerusalem continues to provide support to people in need, and to provide opportunities for people to grow and contribute to building resilient communities, reaching altogether tens of thousands of people each year.
For dignity and for justice, at Augusta Victoria Hospital
On Wednesday, LWF President Bishop Henrik Stubkjær met with local staff and patients at Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH).
A salient landmark on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, the hospital marks this year 75 years of service to people in need, including Palestinians both from the West Bank and, most notably, from Gaza.
But it is by no means an easy task.
“The whole political context, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, is very challenging. Our patients, our students, our staff are faced with increasing violence and uncertainty. The economic hardship is increasing,” explains Sieglinde Weinbrenner, LWF Representative in Jerusalem.
Practically speaking, “the main challenge is the uncertainty of the future of Palestine, especially with the situation in Gaza, which means it is difficult to plan our work and our projects. Nonetheless, we are trying to be prepared for all scenarios, to see how can we scale up our emergency response at a time when it is dearly needed,” she adds.
At the end of the day we are giving the best treatment and with dignity, and this is what is most important.
Dr Fadi Atrash, CEO Augusta Victoria Hospital
Speaking as CEO of the AVH, Dr Fadi Atrash describes a hospital that has come to serve as part of the very backbone of the Palestinian health system.
It is a hospital in continuous transformation, implementing the latest innovations to provide cutting-edge healthcare in modern facilities. But this is not just about mere medical excellence, but a question of justice too, Atresh explains.
“At the AVH we seek to provide the highest technology and the needed services for Palestinians by Palestinians, in their own cultural environment, in their own spiritual environment. The equity and the accessibility to the treatment that is given when you respect the patients and you give them the feeling that they are dignified… At the end of the day we are giving the best treatment and with dignity, and this is what is most important,” he reflects.
LWF President Stubkjær, whose visit to the Holy Land includes concerted efforts to advocate for increased support to the AVH among local political representatives as well as the wider international diplomatic community, noted that the AVH is uniquely placed to serve people in need at this time, and ready to continue to provide lifesaving cancer treatments also to patients from Gaza as soon as passage from Gaza into East Jerusalem becomes possible again, as well as to provide shipment of medical supplies as soon as these will be allowed into Gaza.
“While money is scarce on all sides, it is important to recognise that any small amount paid into the Augusta Victoria Hospital serves to show the joint commitment we all have to this crucial mission and ministry for Palestinians and for local communities in the Holy Land. It is a matter of human dignity,” Stubkjær urged.
Chief Radio Technologists and Radiation Safety Officer Samih Anati showcases medical equipment to LWF President Bishop Stubkjær, LWF regional secretary for Asia Rev. Dr Rospita Siahaan, and LWF World Service Head of International Programs Caroline Tveoy, during a visit to the Augusta Victoria Hospital. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
LWF representative in Jerusalem Sieglinde Weinbrenner shows a shipment of medical supplies intended for, and awaiting a renewed attempt at shipping to, patients in Gaza, at the Augusta Victoria Hospital. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
LWF President Bishop Henrik Stubkjær visits the LWF Vocational Training Centre in Ramallah, West Bank. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
Empowering young people to contribute to their communities
Alongside the AVH, the LWF World Service program in Jerusalem provides vocational training for young Palestinians in two locations: Beit Hanina and in Ramallah. The centres provide both one-year and two-year training programs in fields such as carpentry, auto-mechanics, interior design, graphic design and printing, telecommunications and electrical installation.
For country representative Weinbrenner, the connection between the different dimensions of the country program is an important one.
“These are two sectors – health and education – that are very close to the work of the church, and we see that we need to invest both in people’s health and in their education,” she explains.
“For the vocational training, we always try to be at the pulse of the market to know exactly what is required so that the students can really be successful in finding work. Because that's the basis, if you have an income, that's the basis to have a family and to plan the future, to take the future in your own hands,” she adds.
Receiving the LWF President for a visit to the training center in Ramallah on 6 November, director Yousef Shalian spoke to the opportunities that vocational training provides, even at a time of deep challenges across Palestinian society.
He underlined in particular the importance of contributing to opportunities for both young men and young women equally.
“During both the pandemic and now the recent war, women are those first affected,” Shalian said, sharing that the LWF together with nine other similar training centres have trained more than 1,000 female students in Jerusalem and the West Bank over the past 5-6 years – including in professions traditionally dominated by men.
“Even in today's economy, our students, male and female, have an excellent employment rate, as there is a huge shortage for skilled people in the Palestinian labour market. In fact, we see the increasing importance of practical skillsets as well as independence in today's market, where the vast majority of private businesses in Palestine are small businesses, rather than large corporations,” Shalian said.
"If you have the skills and you are strong, you will find opportunities", he added.
Meeting the students of the training centre in Ramallah – with currently 140 students enrolled across one-year training programs and totalling some 350 students graduating annually, short-courses included – LWF President Stubkjær was moved by seeing their commitment and dedication.
“We could hear that many of the students either already almost have a job in place, or are looking to start their own businesses,” Stubkjær reflected.
“As a global communion carrying out this work in this local context, I think it is deeply meaningful. We can really see that this is a way to sustain also a society, to give young people confidence, to empower them, to contribute to building their own society, their own future. This is how to build hope,” he concluded.
LWF President Bishop Henrik Stubkjæer visits the Holy Land on 4-9 November, to meet with representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, the LWF World Service program, as well as partners and with political representatives. Accompanying him were Rev Dr Rospita, Regional Secretary for Asia, Caroline Tveoy, Head of International Programs, and Sieglinde Weinbrenner, LWF Jerusalem Representative.
