Ground level Peace “Works” not just “Talks”. With so much press coverage of high level peace efforts at the UN it is instructive to see the work of the Daughters of Charity  “Trying to help the poorest of the poor in Gaza”. Click Read More.

From Haaretz – “Catholic nuns, Arab caregivers, an ultra-Orthodox teacher and volunteers from many foreign countries make up the staff of the Saint Vincent home for severely disabled children in Ein Karem – a small haven of pure humanity, where race and religion do not matter.”

See also related YouTube videos…

• St. Vincent’s Virus in Jerusalem
• Food distribution in Gaza
• Accompanying Daughters of Charity on visit in Gaza
• Summer Camp in Gaza for children from care centers run by Daughters of Charity, June 2008
• Amagad Kindergarten Project in Gaza – A visit to kindergarten run by Daughters of Charity in Gaza (Narration in Italian)
• Visit to kindergarten in Gaza – A report from visit in Gaza few days after exchange of fire and rockets between Gazans and Israelis, March 2008
• A visit to the Gaza Strip a year after the attack

We visit the areas heavily shelled, mainly the industrialized area. We could see where some factories remained must as they were after the war and others that were being rebuilt. Men and boys with donkey carts were busy clearing and hauling away debris from the ruins. Others were straightening the tangled iron rein reinforment rods, working in twos. We are told that they are paid 15 shekels or $3.30 a day to do these jobs. We wondered how families manage to eat daily with such limited income.

We went on to the 10:00 Mass at the parish which is always a joy and to see friends. The youth and children have returned to going to the Mass and sing with great gusto.

We went to the Middle Camps to the Musaddar School and saw all the teachers, even though the schools are all closed for the semester break. Teachers were busy making visual aids for the children. Mohammad shared with our guests all the programs going on it the school which continues to be a center for many programs for adults and children of the three local villages.

We wanted to see how Mona’s home is advancing and found a beautiful reality.
The house of two rooms and a bath which Fr. Giovonni Nicolini’s parish has been sponsoring has become three times larger. The neighbors encouraged by help from the outside have donated cement blocks and money to build a house much larger and ideal for a family of ten. We never saw such smiles on the faces of the mother and each child as we congratulated them on the building. Four of the children are in their early 20ies and the youngest is three.

http://daughtersofcharity-gaza.blogspot.com