Dear friends,

Here at BASR (the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation) we believe that if all people are to achieve fullness in life, we need to reach out and encourage them to use and maximize their potential.

Having a person with disability is, without any doubt, an instability factor for a family and the community in general. Such a presence could affect positively or negatively all aspects of an individual’s life: social, economic, emotional and psychological. Our goal is to work on changing attitudes towards people with disabilities, as they are human beings with great potential, able to contribute towards building up their society as partners, using their own resources.

We would like to introduce our work to you. We hope you will feel the enthusiasm we have for the future in terms of the growth of our existing services and also the development of new innovative projects. Equally, we do hope you will sense the underlying philosophy of our work here: the integration of a wide range of medical and rehabilitation services to support the independence of people and communities.

BASR is in the heart of one of the most troubled lands the world has ever known; and yet there is a real sense of hope here for reconciliation and peace. Often, in a tense or difficult situation between people, it is the small gesture of understanding and care which makes a huge difference in people’s life.

You will see a clear statement of our goals to take us into the twenty first century. But I would like to add one of my own, in this opening message: We hope that through our work and contacts with national and international communities, we can make one of those small gestures that make a difference.

Edmund Shehadeh

Executive Director