AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE SPAFFORD CHILDRENS CENTER FUND
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Mission Statement
The American Friends of the Spafford Children’s Center (AFSCC) is a 501c3 organization that raises funds to support the nearly century old Spafford Children’s Center (SCC) in the Old City of Jerusalem. The mission of the Spafford Children’s Center is to provide a holistic approach to tutoring in Arabic, English, and math plus therapeutic services including trauma treatment, cultural, and other related supportive services for Palestinian children and families in need.
About This Cause
Since 1925 the Spafford Children's Center has been bringing help and hope to Palestinian children and families. The SCC provides comprehensive services to address developmental and learning delays, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, and traumatic stress that can affect the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children. Individually based tutoring in Arabic, English, and mathematics is offered in small groups of two or three children. Before and after the courses children are assessed to measure progress and make recommendations for additional supports. Taking a comprehensive approach to the needs of children, SCC also provides occupational and speech therapies, counseling, cultural activities, and empowerment sessions for mothers. The educational situation in East Jerusalem has deteriorated. This has particularly hurt vulnerable children with learning and/or emotional problems that negatively affect their school performance. These children do not get the attention they need in a crowded classroom and most schools cannot afford to provide special support. The Spafford Children’s Center offers children a chance to deal with their challenges by promoting their cognitive, social, and emotional development through a comprehensive, individually based, tutoring program combined with speech and occupational therapy. The integrated program takes place in the SCC in the Old City of Jerusalem, which is a secluded, safe, and engaging environment with ample indoor and outdoor spaces and facilities where children can play and participate in creative activities using their imaginations. At the SCC there is a specialized program to address trauma reactions in Palestinian children. These reactions often result from their interactions with police or military personnel. With the trained staff children can talk about what they have experienced walking to school, in their neighborhoods, and at home. They sense the acceptance and safety as the trauma specialist, social worker, and psychologist use games, art, individual counseling, and exercise to help the children express their feelings. The year is divided in three semesters of 3½ months each that include evaluations before, during, and at the end of the course. The semesters are designed to coincide with the school year, interspersed with recreational events, trips, and a camp during the summer holidays. Programs for youth involve support groups, folk dancing (Dabkeh), art classes, volunteering at events, and a summer camp. SCC recognizes the importance of a family based approach to the needs of children. Services offered to mothers/parents help them understand the issues faced by their children. Mothers often sit in the sessions and observe the teacher working with their child so that they can learn how to support at home the progress made at SCC. The Spafford Children’s Center has a rich history that begins with Horatio Spafford. He and his wife Anna suffered the loss of their four daughters in a shipwreck in 1873. Anna cabled her husband: “Saved alone, what shall I do?” Horatio immediately set off on his own transatlantic voyage to bring his wife home. At the spot where his four daughters were lost at sea, Horatio was inspired to write a poem that became the lyrics for the popular American hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” In 1881 the Spaffords and a group of religious pilgrims from Chicago went to Jerusalem and established what became known as the American Colony. Their devotion to charitable works attracted more people from the United States and Sweden. As the next generation assumed leadership in the Colony it continued its focus on service. A 20th Century version of the Christmas story led to the formation of the Spafford Baby Home and later to the Spafford Children’s Center. On Christmas Eve in 1925, Bertha Spafford Vester, the eldest daughter of Horatio and Anna, came upon a Bedouin man who had been traveling for hours with his sick wife and newborn baby boy riding on a donkey. They found the hospital closed to outpatients for the holiday. Bertha recalled, “Here before me stood a rustic Madonna and babe, and, similar to Mary’s plight, there was no place for them to stay.” At Bertha’s urging, the woman was admitted to the hospital, but died the next morning. Fearing his newborn son would also die if he took him to his home in a cave, the Bedouin father begged Bertha to take the baby. Bertha agreed. Within a week, Bertha was asked to take in two more orphaned babies. As time passed, the Spafford Baby Home grew into a children’s hospital. Following the 1967 war, which put East Jerusalem in Israel, the focus of the SCC changed from providing hospital care to preventive medical care. The outbreak of the first Intifada (Palestinian Uprising) in December 1987 and the Gulf War in 1991 presented new challenges. The increasing poverty of the population due to the worsening economic situation forced many people to seek the help of charitable institutions like SCC. Many families received food supplies, baby milk, and free medical care. The SCC Social Services Department soon had a waiting list of people seeking help. The violence experienced or witnessed by many children resulted in psychological disorders. Psychological services were added and have been expanded to include a professional psychologist, teachers, trauma specialist, and counselors as the need became ever more urgent. The number of children developing speech problems increased so a speech therapist and occupational therapist joined the team to help these children overcome their challenges. Cultural activities such as painting, drawing, handicrafts, music, dancing, and drama were also added. Trauma and reactions to trauma have been well studied worldwide. Recent advancements in neuroscience show that early biological and psychosocial experiences can affect the developing brain. Children respond to danger and life-threatening situations with anxiety, withdrawal, and regression to earlier stages of development. As many Palestinian children must pass daily checkpoints staffed with armed police on their way to school this frightening experience can affect their cognitive and emotional development. These students can become so preoccupied by stress and fear that they are unable to listen and absorb the teaching and need professional help to address their anxiety and insecurity. Palestinians are living under the longest, ongoing occupation in the world, yet Palestinian families have shown resilience in functioning and supporting their children. Resilience exists as a buffering factor that protects child health and development from the negative impact of trauma. The Spafford Children’s Center has responded to changes in the environment and the needs of the population for nearly 100 years. With your donation services can continue for children and families in need. For more information see the SCC website: http://www.spaffordcenter.org/ or write to The American Friends of the Spafford Children’s Center at: SpaffordUSA@gmail.com . We thank you for your interest and contributions.