April 2021
This Eastertide make a difference in the lives of deaf and deaf-blind children
Don't forget Easter lasts 50 days!
It's not too late for you and members of your congregation to support our Eastertide appeal to transform the lives of students at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan.

Meet the wonderful children whose stories we share each week of the Easter season. For more resources, videos, and information, visit www.afedj.org/easter. To make a donation, visit www.afedj.org.

Click on a photo to learn more about the student pictured - both in their own words and from their teachers.
Farah
Mo'adh
Asma
Ayham
Dia'h
Mohanned
In this two-minute video the Rev. Cn. Matthew Dayton-Welch, an AFEDJ trustee from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, talks about how the Holy Institute for the Deaf points us to the promised land.
What gives Bishop Hosam Naoum hope for the future?
Recently bishop-coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, the Rt. Rev. Hosam Naoum, joined some of his American friends to talk about the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf and other ministries of the Diocese. Despite the challenges brought by the pandemic and the ongoing turmoil in the Holy Land, the hope he feels about the future is inspiring.

With the upcoming retirement of Archbishop Suheil Dawani, Bishop Hosam will be installed as diocesan bishop on Ascension Day, May 13. Stay-tuned for details on how to watch the installation live-stream or later on-demand in the May edition of our enews.
COVID surge and lack of vaccine threaten to overwhelm healthcare systems in the West Bank and Gaza
“The situation is really very scary in Gaza.”
— Suhaila Tarazi, director of Ahli Arab Hospital
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported this week that hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza are on the verge of being overwhelmed by the current surge of COVID-19.

Cases in Gaza doubled last week with a daily average of 2,000 and a 39 percent positivity rate. In the city of Nablus, MSF reports that hospitals are so full that patients are being turned away unless they are in urgent need of supplemental oxygen. Currently 20,000 cases of COVID are being treated in the West Bank.

With only two percent of Palestinians vaccinated to date, the people served by the already fragile healthcare systems in the West Bank and Gaza are more vulnerable than ever in the midst of the spike in new cases, 75 percent of which are the B.1.1.7 variant.

Last week Suhaila Tarazi, director of Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, put the crisis in focus. “So far Gaza, with its population of two million people, has received 60,000 doses of the vaccine from the UAE. Shortages of intensive care beds were already in place before the pandemic, and there are just 180 ventilators in all of Gaza.”

In mid-2020 the government suspended all non-urgent services and closed all outpatient services at public hospitals. Tarazi said, “That put a load on us at the hospitals that remain open. Life in Gaza is filled with uncertainty, restriction, and worry. We do not know what is going to come.”

She added, “Nevertheless we are keeping faith and hope.” 
One easy way to multiply your church's impact for good in the Holy Land
Partner with American Friends on a diocesan Sustainable Development Goals grant
For the past two years, American Friends has partnered with churches in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) or global mission grant programs in more than 15 dioceses across The Episcopal Church.

For congregations that care about the humanitarian institutions in the Holy Land and are looking for ways to grow your financial support, a partnership with American Friends is a perfect way to multiply your impact. 

And here's the best part: you supply the passion for our shared mission and we do (almost) all the work!

Depending on the diocesan grant program, between $1,000 and $13,000 is available to support of the Family Empowerment Program at Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre or the Child Trauma Clinic at Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.  

In addition to preparing the grant application, we’ll assist with reporting and publicity once the grant is awarded.

We're grateful to our partners in the following dioceses where we've already submitted 2021 applications: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas, and Western North Carolina.

Does your diocese have an SDG or global mission grant effort where you might welcome our support in making an application? Please be in touch with AFEDJ Communications Director Heidi Shott at hshott@afedj.org or 207.592.7353 to start the conversation.
AFEDJ offers a safe, secure channel to make gifts to support the work of the humanitarian institutions of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem | 203-655-3575