Making accessibility a reality
BASR’s helps local authorities set up services across the West Bank, such as this centre in Tuqu, providing accessible education for children with a range of individual learning needs.
Join us in praying for the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation, which works to create a more inclusive society for disabled people in the West Bank.
At the entrance to the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation’s main centre, a sign greets visitors: ‘Every patient is first & foremost a human being’. These words reflect BASR’s long history of advocating for disabled people’s rights. While the hospital at Bethlehem provides pioneering healthcare and rehabilitation services, BASR also works further afield to ensure people can access support within their own communities.
Disabled people face multiple barriers to full participation in society – from inaccessible buildings to negative assumptions that write them off as unproductive. A young person might miss out on university because the buildings are difficult to get into, while families seeking rehabilitation for a disabled child can face long and expensive journeys to the right services.
Part of BASR’s community outreach work involves advising local healthcare and educational organisations on how to include disabled people, both in terms of adaptations to buildings and staff awareness of disability rights. By helping local organisations become more inclusive, BASR opens doors to education, healthcare, employment, and community life.
Bible reading
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favouritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
James 2:1-4
Thought
James challenges the believers not to make judgements based on outward appearances or the situation society has put people in, but to treat everyone with equal dignity and respect. God calls us to see people as he sees them, not through the lens of assumptions or prejudice.
People living with disabilities in the West Bank – and in our own communities – face barriers that others simply don’t notice. BASR’s work to open up services and opportunities is life-changing for people who have been shut out or assumed to have nothing to contribute. James’s words are a timely reminder to pay attention to the distinctions we often make and the categories we put people into, and to be active in ensuring everyone is welcome.
Ask yourself: Are there people in your church or community facing barriers that others haven’t noticed, and what could you do to change things for the better?
Prayer
Father God,
Thank you for making every person in your image and seeing everyone as precious. We pray for the staff, patients, and families supported by the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation. Bless their community outreach work, and help them to make society more accessible for people with disabilities.
Forgive us for the times when we fail to notice the barriers others face. Open our eyes to see people as you see them, and give us the courage to build communities where everyone is valued and supported.
Amen
