Khawla A’Hadi

When 44 year old Khawla noticed a sudden deterioration of vision in her left eye, she waited six months before going to our Anabta Centre for treatment. The vision in the right eye had already deteriorated. When she finally did manage to see our staff, it was discovered that she has unstable diabetes and diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. Her left eye had also developed a cataract.

With spectacles she could see half way down the eye chart, but could not afford to buy the spectacles to enable herself to see better.

Khawla’s difficult life has aged her far beyond her years. Her family were made refugees in 1948, when they were forced to leave their home on the coast, near the Israeli town of Hadera . Her 69 year old husband also has poor vision and is unable to work. Together, they live in the Tul Karem refugee camp, where they have no children to look after then. They are able to live on some money and food provided by her sister’s family.

It was decided that Khawla needed Cataract and Vitrectomy surgery at the Jerusalem Hospital . We are happy to report that the combined surgery, with the insertion of an intra-ocular lens, was completed successfully. Her fees were paid by UNRWA and the Australian Women’s Fund.

Women in the OPT lead a difficult and sometimes unforgiving life that we in the West might find difficult to even imagine. Our services help to make things a little easier and offer hope to many thousands of women who would otherwise lose both their self respect and their potential to contribute to Palestinian society.