Caritas Jerusalem celebrates Mother’s Day for members of the Ramallah Elderly Day Care Center with a special outing to Jericho
 

JERUSALEM — Catholic relief group Caritas Jerusalem took members of its elderly day care center in Ramallah  to Jericho on March 30 to celebrate Mother’s Day.

 The Ramallah Elderly Day Care Center has been reaching out to the elderly in the Ramallah region since 1990. Each year, a key part of its program involves celebrating special days with outings to help elderly citizens enjoy the day in a relaxed environment. The event was made possible by the support of Caritas Alicante from Spain.

This year the group celebrated Mother’s Day with 30 members of its elderly center, five of the center staff and six youth volunteers from the Ramallah region village of Jifna. This group of youth volunteers is one of 11 groups of some 140 young people who participate in Caritas Jerusalem’s Youth Volunteers program. These youth volunteers donate their time towards community betterment actions. These young people joined the excursion to make the time for the elderly more enjoyable and to help out.

 Special days like this help give needed chances for lonely elderly citizens to share a time of togetherness and joy in the Holy Land where the news always seems to be so sad.

The trip began with a bus ride from Ramallah to Jericho starting at 8:30 a.m. During the bus ride, the elderly and the youth sang songs and read poems. All in attendance looked forward to a carefree day of fun and enjoyment in Jericho.

Upon arriving in Jericho, the group was welcomed at the Latin Convent. Fr. Hijazin, the parish priest of Jericho, greeted the elderly, the volunteers and the members of the Caritas Jerusalem team and informed the community of the presence of these special guests. He also gave a special blessing to the  elderly who were present. 

Following mass, all of the elderly and those present from the local community were invited to coffee by Fr. Hijazin. 

Then, the group proceeded to the Banana Garden, a Jericho locale for fun and food.  The Banana Garden is an outdoor park and entertainment center for the people of Jericho and all Palestinians who can reach the city. It has shops, a green grass picnic and barbeque area and a swimming pool for kids. 

At the Banana Garden, the elderly joined with the youth volunteers playing games and listening to music. One of the young people brought a drum to play and the group listened to oud music and danced together.

 A favorite game that is played by the elderly is backgammon, which in Arabic is called sheshbesh. Nothing like a good game of backgammon to generate an appetite.

After some recreation, it was time to prepare for the lunch, which  was made up of traditional Palestinian barbeque meat, kifta kebab, lamb and chicken with fresh salad and hummus. Everyone helped prepare the barbeque with the young people doing the cooking. To prepare a lunch for over 40 people takes a lot of work, but everyone was happy to help.

 One word a person will hear constantly after the food is prepared is the Arabic word: tfaddal in singular or tfaddalu in  plural, which is the customary polite invitation to share in the meal. No doubt, this word was heard many times during this barbeque.

This day is one of many that Caritas Jerusalem undertakes to help the elderly citizens remember that in the midst of very hard circumstances that many face, they are there to do their best to help them remember that they are loved and not forgotten.

 For more information email communication@caritasjr.org.