A $25,000 grant by The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) is helping St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital (SJJEH) to provide eye care for 30,000 children in an area of the world where blindness is ten times higher than in the West. Over 50% of the people in the Palestinian Territories, one of the world’s fastest growing populations, are now under the age of 18, and almost that many live below the poverty level.

This is the second grant that TPRF has made to St. John Eye Hospital. Chairman John Talbot expressed his appreciation: “The continued, generous support of The Prem Rawat Foundation this year will permit the St. John Eye Hospital Group to expand and improve our much-needed services for the children of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. Congenital eye disease and disfigurement are rife amongst the younger generation in the Holy Land, and our work ensures that many young people grow up with more opportunity to learn and become productive adults in an already difficult environment.”

SJJEH is the only charitable pediatric ophthalmic provider across the West Bank, Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem and expects to treat over 30,000 children this year. Open to people of all religions and ethnicities, SJJEH serves the area with two hospitals, two clinics and two mobile outreach clinics. This broad outreach is particularly significant because of the difficulty of traveling due to the numerous checkpoints and barriers throughout the region.

The ongoing political disputes have made this one of the world’s most difficult environments in which to provide services of any kind. Yet early detection of eye disorders and disease is critical to prevent later loss of sight. With early detection, 80% of blindness is preventable.

St. John Eye Hospital states its goal: “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 able to function in the adult world. Our goal is to eliminate preventable blindness in the Palestinian Territories.”

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