Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza needs support to reconstruct clinic

January 16, 2019

In early December 2018, as most of us were starting to think and prepare for Christmas, ABM’s partner Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza was rocked by the unexpected collapse of their 120 year-old Surgical Outpatient Clinic.

Al Ahli reported in its press release: “Thanks to the Lord, no one was injured!… Due to the sudden and catastrophic nature of this failure, immediately and as a safety precaution towards this unexpected serious incident affecting adjacent buildings, Ahli Hospital patients, staff and professionals had to be rushed out and were temporarily relocated to a safer and more secure area …. Patients continued to receive treatment from healthcare professionals as usual.” (Al Ahli’s full press release may be read below.)

ABM has supported Al Ahli Hospital for many years in its efforts to provide free of charge medical services – including nutritional support for young children and emergency operations to the people in Gaza. Immediately following the collapse of the outpatient clinic in December 2018, ABM sent AUD $10,000 to assist with reconstruction of the clinic.

We invite our supporters to make donations or offer prayers as the hospital recovers and continues its good work with the people of Gaza in 2019. 

Please consider a gift to help the Al Ahli Hospital by clicking on this button.
 

 

[Flash News from Ahli Arab Hospital, Thursday 6^th December, 2018] 

Revitalization of a comprehensive maintenance plan at Ahli Arab Hospital is imperative. Sudden collapse of the Outpatient Clinics on the 6^th of December.  

© Al Ahli Hospital.

The Gaza Strip has been living extremely difficult and tragic conditions which are deteriorating day after day.  In the midst of the disease, social problems, humanitarian suffering, political violence and  siege for more than 11 years so far, divine mercy is farfetched to bring peace, justice and happiness to the people in Gaza enclave. That is how the Director General of the Ahli Arab Hospital started her phone call with trembling voice with the Archbishop Suheil Dawani.

In an urgent plea made to the Diocese of Jerusalem, Mrs. Suhaila Tarazi declared, that at about 14:00 pm Thursday December 6^th, 2018, the 120 years old building of the Outpatient Clinic had surrendered to the extreme ecological factors; it is considered the most serious structural failure incident at Ahli Arab Hospital that has ever happened. The steel beams including bar joists, roof decking and the plaster ceiling with surrounding walls, caved into the rooms and collapsed. If the building had been occupied during that time, there could have been fatalities. Only due to the Lord mercy, no one was injured during this serious incident.

Despite the difficulties faced by the hospital, she commented, and the continued struggle to alleviate the suffering of indigent  communities in Gaza, offering free of charge necessary medical services, unexpected surprises continue to play serious role in storming the Ahli with additional outface and serious societal ramifications. But thanks to the Lord Jesus for everything, she added, for Him embracing us in this ministry away from harm to offer us hope, peace and conformity; she repeated unceasingly, that in times of encounters and suffering, God perceives His righteous followers with compassion, kindness and tenderness.

Due to the sudden and catastrophic nature of this failure, immediately and as a safety precaution towards this unexpected serious incident affecting adjacent buildings, Ahli Hospital patients, staff and professionals had to be rushed out and were temporarily relocated to a safer and more secure area within the vicinity of the hospital. Other Outpatient clinic visitors were assigned to the physiotherapy department. Patients continued to receive treatment from healthcare professionals as usual…” Suhaila stated.

At a fast pace for a quick recovery for operation, the Ahli consultant engineer and a construction team was on site. They highlighted the urgent need for infrastructural makeover. Their findings and quick assessment of the outpatient clinic provided useful insight to the types of bar joists that were manufactured between 1900 to late 1950’s and still have been used well after 1960, were behind the catastrophic failure of the building, besides the sporadic laissez-faire level of repair and construction works undertaken, the latest was during 1993. Their inspection  highlighted that the outpatient department  has been in poor infrastructural condition that forced quality assurance on the building very dangerous for Habitat and eventually led to the ancient outpatient clinic unexpected failure to collapse. Besides, adjacent facilities like cashier space area, waiting room for patient admission have been slightly affected with limited sporadic maintenance implemented here and there due to incapacitated financial resources made available to the Hospital.

While AAH budget is already exhausted,  the Ahli Arab Hospital is confronted with finding immediately, the necessary financial resources for the reconstruction works to take place, and the Hospital needs to complete this occurrence “in the shortest period of time possible,” according to Suhaila.

On behalf of the Diocese, we would like to inform you that Ahli Arab Hospital urgently calls upon all supporters and believers in their humanitarian ministry, to support the reconstruction of the Outpatient Clinic in the amount of USD 150K in addition to a comprehensive preventive plan for repair and maintenance within the vicinity of the Hospital. We appreciate all the help we can get.

Your generous offering will go a long way in ensuring that we achieve our goal of completing the operational recovery and reconstruction of the outpatient clinic department besides conducting the comprehensive repair and maintenance plan for the other collaterals that were affected by the sudden collapse as well as other aging facilities inside the hospital compound.

“For God loves a cheerful giver”. Corinthians 9:7

 

Images show the damaged outpatient clinic at Al Ahli Hospital. © Al Ahli Hospital.