Our Mission
When the elderly and terminally ill people of Bethlehem reach the end of their lives, they have nowhere to turn. We believe that everyone deserves dignity, care and help to manage pain at the end of their life. Our Mission is to provide a hospice at home care service for Bethlehem’s elderly and terminally ill.
“We are pleased to report that we are establishing the first hospice care service
in Bethlehem, which will care for the terminally ill in their own homes and support their families. Resources presently available are not sufficient to support an in – patient Hospice.”
The Real Bethlehem
Suffering in Silence
Bethlehem, is a special place to a great many people in the world. It is special to Christians, to Judaism and to Islam. Many of Bethlehem’s inhabitants can trace their ancestry back to the time of Christ.
The world has an idealised view of Bethlehem. It is associated with Christmas and the events of 2000 years ago. Many forget that Bethlehem is also a living community facing the everyday challenges of everyday living in an emerging state – Palestine.
The Need is Great
Bethlehem’s healthcare system is underdeveloped and healthcare delivery is patchy. Cancer related illness is the second highest cause of death. One in eight of all deaths are cancer related. 1Those with other life limiting illnesses add to the numbers needing care.
Sixty-eight per cent of those first diagnosed with cancer are at a late stage. 2The average age of for cancer diagnosis 55 years.
3Family is strong in Bethlehem but without palliative support families are unable to help or comfort, their loved ones who suffer and too often die in pain. ‘At the end of life when the load of symptoms is high… families are not able to care for their patients, as there is no system for home care available for the Palestinian patients. 4Patients are given little pain control. 5This Hospice will be the first provider of Palliative Care serving the population. There is no social care.
Please join in helping to relieve suffering and making a difference.
1Cancer Care in the Palestinian Territories; The Lancet Oncology by Halahleh K and Gale RP.
2 Barriers to and opportunities for, palliative care developers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region by Ibtihal Fadhil et al.
31 ibid
4Palliative Care situation in the Palestinian Authority; Mousa Shawawra, Amal Dweib Khlief, Pediatr Hematol Oncol
5Quality of life for Palestinian Patients with Cancer in the absence of a palliative care service; A triangulated
study MH Khleif, AM Imam – The Lancet