Spafford Children’s Centre
Where are they?
What do they do?
Who benefits?
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Jerusalem
Deliver effective care to children through a range of departments, and pioneer the use of new techniques in health care.
Thousands of disadvantaged children in Jerusalem. |
More Infomation:
Founded: 1925
Director: Dr Jantien Dajani-Wielaard
Beginnings:
On Christmas Eve in 1925, Bertha Spafford Vester met a couple in Jerusalem with a tiny newborn baby, seeking medical care. Bertha took action and the woman was admitted to hospital. The following day the man came to her house to say that his wife had died. He begged Bertha to take care of the baby, as he feared the child would die in his care. She accepted the child, a little boy who she named Noël, and that was the start of the Spafford Baby Hospital. The Centre grew from this and continues to develop programmes to meet the changing needs of those living locally and across the West Bank.
Activities
Medical Department
- The Medical Department provides a range of care for babies and young children including vaccinations, a paediatric clinic, and advise on nutrition and the general care.
- The Centre has recently begun a weekly medical outreach clinic in a village to the north of Jerusalem.
- The Psychosocial Department provides a range of services that are holistic in approach to the children’s health and social needs, including special needs education, speech and play therapies. A more recent area of development is expressive arts therapy – to help young people and women cope with the trauma that surrounds them in daily life.
Cultural Department
This department provides a social club for children, teenagers and mothers. It offers a range of activities helping children to develop their talents and skills by taking part in art, music, dancing, and many other activities.
Click here for a printable factsheet on Spafford Children's Centre
Click here to download our December 2009 article from The Star in the East Magazine (PDF)
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