A mother and her children wait to see a doctor at a clinic in the West Bank village of Shuqba. The clinic is operated by Augusta Victoria Hospital, which is supported in part by Church World Service. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT-CWS

This is god's Work

Story by Chris Herlinger/CWS

"This is God’s work," Wafa Goussous, director of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) office in Jordan, said recently about the work of the MECC in what was a noticeably uncertain year in the Middle East.

In 2006 and into this year, the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate continued with no end in sight, as did the war in Iraq; tensions in the region worsened during the summer of 2006 with the war between Israel and factions within Lebanon that uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes. Recent political assassinations and tensions in Lebanon have added to regional uncertainty.

Still, the Church World Service commitment to the Middle East remains firm and strong. Shipments of CWS School Kits, Health Kits, and Kids Kits continue, as does support for humanitarian work -- such as providing food, health, and educational support -- by the MECC in places like Gaza and the West Bank.

That support has been crucial to partners as they struggle amid the continued uncertainties and troubles. "We can't lose hope; otherwise it will be a disaster for the Palestinians," said Constantine S. Dabbagh, executive director of the MECC’s Committee for Refugee Work.

Another key element: Supporting the Lutheran World Federation-Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem which, on a monthly basis, supplies some 1,700 medical procedures for Palestinians, including dialysis, radiation, chemotherapy, endoscopy, and head-neck treatments.

Finally, there are the efforts of both the MECC and International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), as they continue work in parts of Lebanon recovering from the 2006 war. The MECC is providing food and non-food aid, as well as health, psychosocial, and economic recovery activities, while IOCC is providing non-food assistance and economic recovery activities, as well as a program to rebuild schools and water systems.

Recently, CWS international disaster response staffer Steve Weaver returned from Lebanon, where he followed up on Church World Service support provided to MECC and IOCC in Lebanon.

Weaver visited Naba’a, an eastern suburb of Beirut, a highly populated and very poor area. CWS and MECC support has assisted the Medical Social Center of the Orthodox Bishopric of Mt. Lebanon. Mona Ghreichi, a Center social worker, said the support of the MECC, as well as a shipment by CWS of such items as canned turkey, helped the center provide food packages to families most in need of it.

It was an effort, she said, that was deeply appreciated. And in a year of otherwise bad news in the Middle East, that was no small matter.

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