Local NGO's bring joy to children with illnesses in Bethlehem

On Saturday around noon an unusual sight were taking place in the Huda Al Masri part of the Beit Jala Goverment Hospital, as an entourage of clowns entered the premises and entertained children and (childish) adults alike.The department is named after the Palestinian women who spent half a lifetime helping children, regardless of religion or color and serves children with serious illnesses such as leukemia and cancer. The ages of the patients is between 1 to 14 years.Around eleven o clock, all children of the department were made to sit as the show began. With rubber-hammers, facial paint and balloons, the performers managed to include the young spectators in the festivities and they were clearly entertained.Gifts and sweets were also the order of day and with a Christmas tree leisurely standing in the visitation room of the department, one could not help but feel that it was Christmas all over again.Arranged by two local NGO's the happening were made to entertain but also to alleviate the pain of the young patients.The groups that had created the show, "the Al-Sadeel Society" and "Bader For Creativeness" were both represented by their respective founders, Amal Dweib and Anan Hamdan. Both agreed that, “when you have the opportunity to give pleasure to children in such circumstances, you should give what you can.”The Huda Al-Masri department has been in use since April 2013.