Scene of the Nativity
DAUGHTERS OF CHARITY
ST. VINCENT
BETHLEHEM
E-mail: creche@p-ol.com
3 June 2009
Hesed Kids Charitable Foundation Inc
Roxana Munoz
670 East 9 Lane
HIALEAH,FL 33010
Dear Benefactors,
It is the right for every child to live within a family, to have a home, caring parents and love. Although we are in the 21 century, we still live the same story of the Manger that existed long ago - the story of the first child left alone on the road to face a mysterious destiny.
Going back in memory to 100 years ago and even before, in 1884, when the Daughters of Charity/Saint Vincent came to Bethlehem on a mission of caring for the sick and poor in the aim of fulfilling the promises of the founder Saint Vincent De Paul and a hospital was founded in the Bethlehem Area for this reason. The Hospital implemented General Medical services and received sick people from all over the Palestinian territories at the time. In 1985 due to political reasons the hospital was closed four years after in the year 1989 the hospital reopened but this time with new specialization and new administration (the Order of Saint John of Malta) to become one of the best maternity hospitals in the Palestinian territories.
The mission of the Daughters of Charity was expanded due to a greater humanitarian need when the Daughters started to find babies left on their doorstep.
In the year 1905, an Orphanage for abandoned and neglected children was founded and known later as “THE CRECHE of BETHLEHEM”. The place became a home for vulnerable children and a shelter for young women and mothers in crisis and it is called HOLY FAMILY CHILDREN’S HOME as you know it these days.
As we all know, the values, social norms, religion and tradition in the Arab world prohibit any relation between man and women out side of marriage, and the punishment of women who act against these norms is death to save the honor of the family.
As a result of this fact women who managed to conceal their pregnancy had to abandon the child, many other women lost their lives while trying to get rid of the baby, others were not lucky enough to conceal it and they were killed with their infants by their families or relatives.
Many children are born with malformations and retardations because of the lack of good prenatal care and poor conditions surrounding the deliveries.
Our mission is to fight for the right to life of women and children, to guarantee a safe shelter and safe delivery for the babies and mothers and thus to help them finding a promising future.
As a result of the increasing social problems, the Home expanded its services to receive children who live in crises, children from broken families, divorced parents, orphan kids, drug addicts’ parents, to name just a few.
The Children’s Home has a Concealed Shelter for women pregnant outside of wedlock, and women experiencing domestic violence who have no shelter, with their lives and their children’s lives in danger. The women receive holistic care during their stay in the shelter. They are secure and safe as long as they have no suitable solutions.
The shelter is concealed because of the social constrictions and to guarantee the security of the place and the women without denying the role made by our legal partner represented by the Local Governmental officials mainly the Ministry of social affairs.
The children have a boarding section well arranged to meet the needs of lives. The home is divided into rooms according to their age group.
The age of the target group in the Holy Family Children’s Home is from 0- 6 years.
The children are welcomed into our Home regardless of their religion, race or background. They are a gift from the Lord. Who can reject such a gift?
We believe that a child needs more than a shelter but a home and a loving environment to grow fruitfully. We developed a kindergarten for the children to accompany them in their developmental stages. In this service we guarantee a comprehensive nurturing environment for the child.
We believe that we cannot live apart from the society and we do not want our children to be stigmatized, so we opened our doors for other children from the local society to join the kindergarten. We gave priority to the children whose families can’t afford a kindergarten. We also accept children from families of average income. Thus we are integrated in the society and give poor children the opportunity to have the experience needed for growing up.
In the boarding section the children are divided according to their age groups. Every group has three caring persons to accompany them in its daily life, especially in the morning and afternoon.
Our aim is to give the best to our children so we employed a specialized team to work with the children in the kindergarten and in the boarding section.
The children from outside the Crèche receive lunch with our children every day from Monday until Saturday.
We have four teachers working with the children in the kindergarten, beside the supervisor and the trainer.
A pediatrician, a child psychologist, and a social worker add their professional expertise, guiding the development of each child.
Since we are in the essential steps of building, a state, the mission is harder.
Rules and regulations to defend the rights of women and children do not exist. Even if we have some laws they are ineffective or ignored.
The number of children is increasing, and cases of abandoned children are even harsher than before. The level of violence and irresponsibility is higher in the area. Those most affected are the children and women.
All of us are aware of the need. The present situation and the future are vague and unpredictable. Violence is increasing and ignorance is one of the predominant causes of the present general situation.
It is not easy to change the face of society, where religious, traditions are the dominate factors in the live of people and in the social regulations.
Courageously we are taking our responsibility in supporting the women and children. In our mission we need solidarity and a deep sense of humanity, and understanding to keep carrying out our Mission.