In the overcrowded, poverty-stricken Palestinian communities of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, blindness is ten times more common than it is in the West. For the third consecutive year, The Prem Rawat Foundation has given a grant of $25,000 to help St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital expand its in-house and mobile services to the area, ensuring that the children of the Gaza Strip will grow to become active, productive adults.

The Palestinian Territories are home to one of the world’s fastest growing populations, now reaching just over 4 million—more than half of whom are under the age of 18. Poor nutrition and lack of access to healthcare services contribute to the skyrocketing rate of vision impairment among these children. So does the high incidence of consanguinity. Marriage between first cousins is not unusual throughout the Middle East, and the lack of mobility among residents of the Gaza Strip has made the practice more common. As a result, about half of the children are affected by congenital disorders, many of them vision related.

Because eye defects and blindness are stigmatized in their culture, visually impaired children in this area may be kept hidden from public view as well as denied both education and social interaction. Yet with early detection, 80% of blindness could be preventable. St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital, which treats all patients regardless of religious affiliation or ethnicity, operates hospitals and clinics in the Territories. Because travel is extremely difficult and even hazardous throughout the region, St John also operates two mobile clinics in order to reach remote rural areas that have no other access to healthcare.

St John's mission is simple and straightforward: "For our patients, lives can be transformed through treatment and surgical intervention. Children’s sight will be saved, and many more will simply be able to lead normal lives, going to school and being able to function in the adult world. Our goal is to eliminate preventable blindness in the Palestinian Territories.”

TPRF is glad to be able to help.

Photos courtesy of The St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group.