For the third consecutive year, a grant for $25,000 from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) will help St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital (SJJEH) provide eye care to children in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. With one of the world's fastest growing and economically poorest populations, this area is also one of the world's most difficult environments in which to provide services of any kind due to political strife.
According to St John Eye Hospital Chairman John Talbot, "Blindness in the Palestinian Territories is ten times higher than in the western countries, yet early detection of eye disorders and disease can prevent later loss of sight. With early treatment, 80% of blindness is preventable. Last year we saw and treated 31,017 patients under the age of 18. We estimate that this year that figure will rise."
In expressing his appreciation for the funding, St John Eye Hospital Chairman John Talbot said that the continued support from TPRF will help SJJEH to expand and improve its much-needed services.
The effort, he says, is carried out at two hospitals, two clinics and two mobile outreach units and helps ensure that many young people will grow up with more opportunity to learn and become productive adults. Obvious defects of the eye are socially stigmatized in the region and can lead to children being hidden at home and not sent to school, thereby decreasing their chances of functioning later in life.
SJJEH is the only charitable pediatric ophthalmic provider across the West Bank, Gaza strip, and East Jerusalem. "TPRF," said President Linda Pascotto, "welcomes this opportunity to play a part in improving the lives and future prospects of at-risk children."
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