Healthy foundations for children in the West Bank
SARAH’S STORY
Sarah works as a Nutritionist with our partner Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre on the Mount of Olives.
Families visit for rehabilitation residentials and one of the first things Sarah does is share a meal with them so she can observe their mealtime behaviours – this helps inform the best nutrition interventions for them.
Many children Sarah works with have physical disabilities or additional health conditions so some will need support with eating challenges such as Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) as in the image above.
One of the biggest challenges Sarah encounters is lack of food security, she explained:
“Most families come from small villages, and many people have lost their jobs during the war, so most of the time food with protein is not available and they are not able to consume enough vitamins.”
Sarah’s priority is to empower families in the West Bank to be able to access the essential nutrients, vitamins and protein they need for children to have a healthy start in life, developing strong bones and muscles and a robust immune system. Educating families on how to cook nutrient-rich meals even when food sources are scarce or costly is enabling families to make healthy and practical choices and is tackling the issue of malnutrition head-on.
Sarah has been really encouraged recently by the impact of her work with one young patient. A girl who had presented with malnutrition was scheduled for surgery to have a feeding tube fitted but after consultation and monitoring with Sarah and sticking to a prescribed nutrition programme, the surgery was deemed unnecessary as the patient was responding well, gaining weight and beginning to show signs of normal, healthy development. This is just one example of the daily transformational impact of Sarah’s work.
Despite the continued challenging conditions in which she lives and works, Sarah is encouraged and motivated by the progress of every one of her patients and sees her work with them as a vocation:
“This is not just a job; it is a humanitarian calling. We are touching the lives of small children in need and impacting them positively – that alone encourages me.”
