Lamis Shibli Ghadir explains the challenges and the rewards of being an Arab social worker in the Ein Kerem Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.

She talks about the building of trust and how communications can bridge divides between peoples of different cultures.

“I am a social worker in the Paediatric Surgical Department and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, and I teach the students at the Hebrew University School of Social Work.

I am proud that we provide healthcare services for all patients, whether they are from West Jerusalem, East Jerusalem, the settlements, or Bethlehem and Ramallah; whether they are Jewish, Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians or Druze.

Every day I work hard to communicate, to build trust, and to shield the patients from the conflict. But the rewards are huge. Hadassah is a fantastic institution that models co-existence”.

To read the original article, please go to http://fathomjournal.org/an-arab-social-worker-in-israel/