Richard Mayhew and Maha Sayegh looking at architectural drawings of the Discovery Center
My week starts with a meeting with Maha, the Nazareth Village director. Maha has been working in the Village since the very start, 25 years ago. The Village is an open-air museum set on the grounds of the Nazareth Hospital. It features houses, terraced fields, wine, and olive presses, all built to recreate a 1st-Century Galilean village. Ever since it opened its doors in 2000, we have welcomed over 1 million visitors worldwide! Unfortunately, the Village had to close in March 2020 but reopened in January 2022 with tourism resuming. In our meeting, Maha and I made sure that all the preparations were in place for the return of tourists. We also discussed the next steps for the brand new visitor centre, called the Discovery Center. We have just received the building permit and are finalising the plans
so that building works can begin later in the year. The new facility will vastly improve the visitor experience at the Village and feature a 3D theatre, gift shop, and café. Over the past few years, we have raised over $6m and continue to receive donations that will make the Discovery Center a reality.
This morning I met with Christine, the SERVE Nazareth director. SERVE is our Christian volunteering programme, which sadly had to close its doors temporarily in March 2020. We have been overwhelmed with CVs from prospective volunteers across the globe during these past two years. Now that international travel is possible again, Christine and I will start planning the reopening of SERVE, shortlisting and interviewing the candidates, and allocating them to the project that best suits their experience and interests. We can’t wait to receive volunteers again and accompany them in such a life-changing experience. Last but not least, we will also discuss the final tasks needed on the refurbishment of the Doctors House, our volunteers’ accommodation, which will be completed in the summer.
In the afternoon, it’s time to get spruced up and get ready for some filming! As we approach the Trust’s 160th-Anniversary celebrations, we are producing some new videos that will help us tell our story: who we are as an organisation, what we have achieved so far, and our plans for the future. I can’t wait to see the result!
Richard Mayhew at the Nazareth Village
Today starts with an international Zoom call to plan the Nazareth Challenge 2022 fundraising event. The UK and Israel teams join forces to ensure the event runs smoothly. They share updates on the work they have been doing and distribute additional tasks. It’s great to see both teams working together, regardless of the km between them! After being postponed two times in a row due to Covid, the popular annual cycle and hike fundraiser will be held on the 23rd – 29th of October in Israel. The fundraising event, which first began in 2010, enrols around 50 fitness enthusiasts each year to participate in a sponsored five-day walking or cycling adventure exploring the Holy Land. The previous year’s fundraising raised donations towards the Trust’s Nazareth Hospital EMMS and supported vital projects such as creating the Hospital’s first Stroke Department and refurbishing the Hospital’s Paediatric Ward. This year’s event will fundraise towards expanding the Pastoral Care Team. I’m a huge fan of cycling myself, and I’ve had the privilege to host the bike ride every year. This afternoon, I will meet with a local tour guide to discuss this year’s challenge route.
This morning I met with the Hospital events committee. We continued to plan for the conference and gala dinner that we will host at the Hospital on the 22nd of October to celebrate 160 years of providing medical care to the community of Nazareth.
In the afternoon, I met with the Hospital management team to discuss the plans for expanding the Hospital’s ER Department – a project that the Israeli Ministry of Health
has already approved in principle. We plan to increase the number of stations from 21 to 70, with additional improvements to emergency vehicle access. This project will help us reduce patients’ transfers to other hospitals outside of Nazareth, offer a culturally sensitive service to patients and families near their homes, and improve our Hospital’s readiness to cope with future medical emergencies. We will need substantial funds to realise this vision and, therefore, considerable discussion on who could potentially help us financially.
First thing this morning, I jumped on a quick video call with the Edinburgh team and the Chairman of the Board to continue planning our 160th-Anniversary event that will take place at the Scottish Parliament in June. We have been sending out invitations, tracking their responses, and working alongside the Parliament events team to discuss all the event logistics. We feel so lucky to be able to celebrate our 160th Anniversary in the city where our story began!
Later, I met with Dr Salam, the Nazareth Academic School of Nursing director. These are exciting times at the School of Nursing. We are about to embark on a significant capital development of the SON building, with two new floors and a fully equipped simulation room. This development is urgently needed as our courses are in huge demand, and a new partnership with a major Israeli university to provide BA nursing degrees is near agreement. So lots of things to discuss.
Richard Mayhew at the Nazareth Village
Last month, Rev Clephane Hume, one of our long-standing supporters, came to visit us at the Edinburgh office for an interview. You can read it below:
If you’d like to read this story as a pdf, click here.
Here’s our Easter reflection written by our Spiritual Director, Frank Kantor:
Suffering and Glory
‘And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter his glory?”’ (Luke 24:25-26)
As we prepare our hearts and minds for the amazing events of the last three days of Holy Week this year, let us be reminded of the words of Jesus to the two perplexed disciples on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection. Their messianic expectations had been shattered by his cruel and shameful execution as a criminal upon a cross. They could only interpret this tragic event through their limited view of reality which excluded the redemptive suffering of the Servant of Yahweh proclaimed by the Jewish prophets.
As we too bear witness to a world in great anguish and suffering this Easter, let us remember that the glory of the resurrection which we celebrate on Sunday passes through the sufferings, death, and burial of Jesus commencing on the evening of Maundy Thursday. This Paschal Mystery remains at the centre of our faith as Christians and is the basis for our hope and consolation amid the many desolations causing such great pain and suffering in the world right now.
Let us hear again the words of Cyprian Bishop of Carthage during the great plague that afflicted the Roman Empire from AD 249-262 when commenting on the way that Christians responded said, “what sublimity, to stand erect amid the desolation of the human race, and not to lie prostrate with those who have no hope in God; but rather to rejoice, and to embrace the benefit of the occasion; that in thus bravely showing forth our faith, and by suffering endured, going forward to Christ by the narrow way that Christ trod, we may receive the reward of His life and faith according to His own judgment!”
Paul says it more simply and profoundly when speaking of our privileged status as children of God and fellow heirs with Christ (provided we suffer with him so that we might also be glorified with him), he says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8: 17-18).
Wishing you an inspiring, hopeful, and blessed Easter season!
When the Nazareth Hospital management told the nursing staff about the possibility to join Ukraine’s Ministry of Health medical aid delegation, Rabi was the first to respond and apply, determined to help Ukrainians in need of treatment.
Rabi Zahr is a nurse in the Surgical Department and Victory Department (COVID-19 wards) at the Nazareth Hospital. He has been in Mostyska for three days so far, a city located on the border between Ukraine and Poland, 70km away from Lviv. He carries the flag of the nursing profession and the Nazareth Hospital, which has treated hundreds of thousands of people for 160 years in all circumstances, including war. Rabi will work in Ukraine for two weeks in total.
Rabi shares his decision with us:
“Nursing is one of the most important professions in the world and is closely related to people, their health, and their life. Giving is at the core of our work and a feeling of love and desire to help others. The humanitarian condition of the Ukrainian refugees from the war and their difficult medical conditions prompted me to travel and take part in the field hospital and help as much as possible with my knowledge and skills. It’s a different experience compared to our daily work since we are mixing with another society that is going through physical and mental stress.”
At the Nazareth Hospital, we are proud of his willingness and love to help others, representing the Nazareth Hospital and the city of Nazareth in this medical mission. We know very well the consequences of wars and the tragedies it causes in people. It is our humanitarian and professional role to stand by everyone in need and provide medical and nursing services to a high standard.
The results of an opinion poll published by the Ministry of Health showed the Nazareth Hospital in second place in the ranking of Best Emergency Rooms from all the hospitals in the country.
Nazareth Hospital retained its lead by achieving a high score of 82%, given by patients who received treatment over the last two years.
This honour is a result of the continuing high standard of medical care provided by the ER staff to all the population of the area, throughout the challenges of the Corona Pandemic and maintaining their efforts in treatment and service over the last two years.
It should be noted that during the last year the Emergency Department received recognition from the Scientific Academy Council as a recognized centre for specialization in emergency medicine, as well as receiving and serving approximately 70,000 patients annually.
The questionnaire was measured using many criteria that centred on the patients’ experience during treatment and their visit to the various emergency departments. These were: general satisfaction with the treatment experience, condition of the department’s infrastructure, waiting times, regularity of treatment and follow-up care, information and explanation given by staff about the patient’s condition, respectful interaction with the patient and being prepared to give a recommendation about the department.
Dr Najeeb Nasrallah, the ER Director, said:
“I would like to thank all the patients for their trust. This honour adds to our responsibility as a medical and nursing staff to provide the best treatments and diagnoses. Despite the difficult cases that reach the ER and the large numbers that visit the emergency room in the Hospital, we deservedly succeeded in ranking second and this success is a result of the great efforts and capabilities of our staff.”
Wael Shomer, the ER head nurse, stated:
“This honour and the appreciation from patients is the result of the professional work process carried out by our nursing and medical staff, as well as by the reception staff in the emergency department. They all seek to provide the best treatment services to our patients from the region. Huge thanks to all the staff members and to the families for their appreciation”.
Professor Fahed Hakim, Nazareth Hospital Director, remarked:
“To begin with, I would like to thank the emergency department staff for this new achievement. The Nazareth Hospital has promised its patients to continue the pursuit of medical and scientific excellence, and here we are reaping the fruit of the efforts and capabilities of our medical staff in the emergency department. The ER annually treats about 70,000 patients and provides services with high professionalism. I am so proud of our staff’s capabilities and thank our patients for both their trust in us and for choosing us.”
Let’s look back in time… Read all about Minnie Charles, a nurse from New Zealand who worked at the Nazareth Hospital in the 30s. And she also got married there!
We want to give special thanks to Minnie’s family for sharing these photos and press cuttings with us.
Click here to read this article as a pdf.
If you also have a story to share, please get in touch. We want to hear from you!
Today we’re travelling back to the 1970s to tell you the story of Catriona Walker, born at the Nazareth Hospital to Scottish parents. Read all about her early memories in Israel below.
If you’d like to read this interview as a pdf, click here.
Do you also have a story to share? Email news@nazarethtrust.org.
