Project 8

Ma`ana (Meaning) Center runs as part of the EMMS hospital in Nazareth. It provides emotional therapy to children and their parents in Nazareth and nearby areas, helping children resume a normal and healthy development.

The center was established in 2006 as a small unit providing therapy for traumatised families after the second Lebanon war. The aim is to develop services to reach and help more suffering families. In 2013, three clinical psychologists treated 35–45 families in weekly sessions and provided counselling to the Child And Family Center and to after-school club for children with behaviour problems.

Demand is growing, as is the waiting time for treatment due to a lack of staff. The hospital suffers financial difficulties so a request was made by Najla Asmar, clinical psychologist and Manager of Ma`ana Center, for APPEH to fund the salary of $67,860 per year for an extra therapist. This was beyond the current capacity of APPEH. Instead an offer of $10,000 was made to contribute to the salary of a therapist and funding of much-needed psychological and psychometric assessments for the hospital library.

APPEH is looking for donors to support this vital project.