JANUARY-MARCH 2003

Medical Work

We experienced nearly uninterrupted storms during these three winter months in Lebanon. The inhabitants of the shantytown live in continual humidity, cold and mud. We care nearly daily for children burned from makeshift heaters.

To add to the discouragement, fights between rival gangs result in injuries and destruction of shanties. On certain mornings, the dispensary was a veritable haven of peace in the agitation where a few tired mothers and sick elderly people warmed themselves around a butane stove while drinking tea with us. We distributed warm clothes and shoes, gifts from people in our network of relationships.

I brought back 40 kilos of medicine from France in February, especially children’s antibiotics which gave good short-term help. In March, it was Paul who brought back 20 kilos of medicine from France. We’re grateful to all our donors and to those who sort the medicine for us. At present we can furnish free of charge nearly all the medicine that we prescribe. Only medicines for diabetics are chronically lacking (oral hypoglycemiants and insulin).

Dr. Hovsep left for the USA on 20 February, but right away, Dr. Marwan Zoghbi, a young Lebanese physician replaced him. Marwan is unfortunately free only on Saturdays, for he is a family practice resident at the French university hospital in Beirut. Marwan is very competent and enjoys this work. I am very grateful to have him working with me and I hope that this collaboration will last.

Zeina continues faithfully her work as assistant, in spite of the difficulties of her private life. Her grandmother, with whom she was very close (having lost her mother at age 15) just died of cancer. Her husband is healed of his testicular tumor but is still unemployed. Her children are failing in school. In spite of this, she sees positive things in her life; notably the regular work with us.

 Medical Curiosities

What doctor has diagnosed a chorée de Sydenham, classic disease which has practically disappeared from our Western countries?  I made this diagnosis in January for one of our literacy class students whose classmates made fun of her because of her bizarre movements and grimaces.

In addition to the nearly daily burns, respiratory infections and infected scabies, we now see more chronic and complicated pathologies because of the good reputation that our dispensary enjoys in the neighborhood. However, we often feel incompetent because of the complex situations we face, often without easy access to specialists.

We are in the process of legally registering the dispensary before the Ministry of Health. It was necessary to obtain an exceptional permission from the local authorities, because the building is located in an illegal and unsanitary area. A Lebanese friend is working actively on completing our registration file with the authorities.

SCHOOL NEWS

Burned shanties, fistfights and gunshots, families of our literacy class children terrorized and forced to flee from revenge between rival gangs… That was January.

Very rainy weather, lakes to cross in order to arrive at school, holding their shoes in their hands to keep their feet dry for the rest of the day, walls which drip, saturated with water, covered with moss, Children who come, however, on time. . . That was February and early March.

A dog with his throat cut, suspended by the tongue, his blood staining the walls in reprisal for denouncing someone to the police, youth under the influence of medicine mixed with alcohol giving themselves over to acts of vandalism, pornographic CDs sold at next to nothing in the street, the war in Iraq and several of our children tempted to join the demonstrations instead of going to school … this was the beginning of April with the sunshine having returned.

In spite of this sometimes heavy atmosphere and children very disturbed by this ever present violence which keeps them from sleep and brings fear but has a certain attraction for older boys, our school is designed to be a place where they can express themselves, think and take responsibility, make choices and respect their neighbors even if sometimes we feel quite helpless and overwhelmed by current events.

This quarter finished with exams and the second report card. Though 70% of the parents are illiterate, they are still invited to come to hear about their children’s results. In order to widen the very limited horizon of these children, we do our best to take them out of their neighborhood as much as possible. Thus, from the beginning of this year, we organized a trip to the snow, recreational and reflective activities on Saturdays in the midst of green space, football training with a professional football player. We also participated in an afternoon with the Red Cross who oriented our youth to its various activities through games and contests. Lastly, we took the entire school to a theatre play about protecting the environment. Mother’s Day took place on 21 March and the children prepared gifts, songs and poems. Unfortunately only 20 mothers out of 55 came. Some of them were working, but for several of them, Mother’s Day represents nothing and most of them didn’t even know this special day existed!

We have become accustomed to sharing with you bits and pieces of the lives of certain of our children, here are a few of them:

Khaldyeh: Victim of sexual abuse, she was able to speak to us about this, despite her shame, guilt and fear. This motivated us to denounce the abuser to the authorities that they might intervene against this neighbor who attracts the children by throwing money!

Jamil and Yusra : Jamil works every Sunday selling second-hand merchandise. He is very proud to tell us that this job allows him to pay for his sister and himself the $3 or Euros monthly we ask from each child for their tuition.

 Ali : His mother complains about his physically and verbally violent behavior. We know that the violence is on both sides. However, Ali is there when his mother tells the story, gets angry, throws his schoolbag on the ground and goes toward the school exit. “Ali, if you leave, you are not coming back to school” reminds one of our teachers. Ali stops, thinks and returns as he mumbles an apology.

Omar : He shows us the marks from his violent alcoholic father, but he is currently preoccupied with his plan to buy a used computer. To make this happen, he works every day after school, as well as the weekends, and saves his money.

Extension Plans:  Walls covered with corrugated roof are contiguous to our school building and we may be able to buy these three rooms to enlarge our facilities. We do feel quite pressed for space, especially if we want to lengthen our study programme one or two more years while opening a new class and having a room for a computer/sewing lab. The problem is that we cannot change the outside appearance of the rooms and we cannot cover the walls for example with a real roof.

Our eyes, like yours, are turned toward Iraq and the sad war that is taking place there. This adds to the confusion and the frustrations that already reign in our neighborhood. But until now, we have never felt personally threatened.

Thank you to our three full-time Arab teachers, who put their whole heart and their enthusiasm to serve these children!  Thank you to all of you who support financially and spiritually our medical and educational projects. Without you nothing would be possible!

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MAY 2002