Activity Report 2010 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the United ...

stones covered with flowers and yellow
flags.
Then to the Order of Malta Medical
Centre, Yaroun, which looks towards
Syria, mountain fold on mountain fold.
The Centre sits like a small outpost –
now rebuilt after suffering serious
damage in the 2006 Israeli bombardments.
The Sisters who run it with
support from the Order overwhelm us
with warmth and hospitality and their
dedication to their patients. Dr. Hoda
Issa, a psychologist who works with the
variety of medical conditions - particularly,
cardiac problems. Sr. Nada notes
difficulties in getting sufficient
medicines to dispense, especially for the
chronically ill, because of the ending of
deliveries of free medicines from
Europe (wich are now distributed at
production cost) and the high cost of
buying them locally.
We detour to see the reconstructed
church of Our Lady of the Assumption
in Baraachit, under the care of Fr. Fady
Ziadé, a haunting figure, bone thin,
no money. The lack of social welfare
infrastructure hampers progress.
The next visit is to the north, to the
Bekaa Valley - famous for its climate
and the Roman ruins at Baalbek - to the
Order’s Centre at Kobayat. En route,
a flying stopover at the Centre at
Khaldieh, where the staff of 33 doctors
perform over 40,000 medical acts each
year, assisted by 10 paramedics,
6 administrative staff and a proud technician,
who has run his efficient laboratory
over many years.
The Order’s Mobile Units bring medical aid to outlying villages where basic health care is not provided
children of the local villages, explains:
‘These youngsters have lived through
frightening times, and many still suffer
trauma.’ They reveal their anxieties
through their drawings and Dr. Hoda can
then diagnose their problems.
The next visit is to inspect the Mobile
Unit at Ain Ebel, which treats patients
from six surrounding villages, averaging
500 patients per month. There is a
gentle, working alone for the last ten
years to support the Christians in his
village and the surrounding countryside.
His church was heavily damaged in the
recent war. With help from the Order
around the world it has been completely
rebuilt. He is very grateful, but his
struggle never ends and there is
sadness for the poverty and lack of hope
among his flock. They cannot anticipate
a better life. They have no education,
Kobayat is a small village which was
bombarded during the civil war of 1988.
It houses an Order of Malta Medical
Centre, which treats an average of 40
patients every morning and is kept very
busy, supported by a staff of 6 doctors,
4 paramedics and 4 administrators.
Another service is legal advice for
immigrants and detainees. The sisters
worry about the serious rise in the cost
of medicines, and the cost of living.
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SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA