In a moving report Haaretz reports that on a hilltop in the Ein Karem section of Jerusalem, there is a hidden kingdom of grace, kindness and mercy. Saint Vincent’s, run by the Daughters of Charity, is home to 59 children and youths with severe mental retardation. Most of the residents also have serious physical disabilities. About two-thirds are Arab, many of them of Bedouin origin.  The work here is demanding and draining, but many of the volunteers “have caught the Saint Vincent virus,” says the director of the residence, Sister Katerina Fuchs, and they return year after year.

A rare glimpse inside this place is both saddening and uplifting. Children groan and shout, make unintelligible sounds, drool. Their heads slump, their legs are strapped to iron crutches, their bodies encased in special girdles. Only a few can speak. Some are bedridden.

For some, all that can be done is to turn them over in bed, so they don’t develop bedsores. When they arrive at Saint Vincent, their medical files indicate that they will not live long. Most outlive these forecasts.

They are cared for by four nuns, a social worker, about 20 paid caregivers and one nurse who is on the premises 24 hours a day. Most of the children need constant supervision to ensure that they don’t choke or fall, and the state funding the institution receives covers just one caregiver for eight patients, which is not nearly enough. If it were not for the 25 volunteers from abroad, Saint Vincent would not be able to function. They are the living spirit of the place, its backbone. The youngest is 18, the eldest 75. The volunteers bring a youthful, happy spirit to the place, and that bolsters and encourages the other staff members.

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