American Colony.
Bertha Vester, on the grounds of the American Colony,
reading the names of welfare recipients, 1916 (30g)
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CONTINUING
RELIEF WORK
The Colony also administered an orphanage to provide refuge
for the many children torn from their parents during World
War I. The charitable work begun by the Spaffords continues
today in the original Colony house abutting the walls of
the Old City of Jerusalem. The Spafford Children's Center
provides medical treatment and outreach programs for Arab
children and their families in Jerusalem.
Inner tensions within the American Colony led to the final
demise of this utopian Christian community in the 1950s.
Since then the second home of the American Colony, outside
the city's walls, has functioned as a hotel--one of the most
famous and beautiful in the Middle East--where members of
all communities in Jerusalem can meet.
Appeals for Aid
These notes are two examples of urgent appeals sent
to Bertha Vester in war-torn Jerusalem. Here two residential
Jerusalem doctors (Dr. Haddad on July 20, 1921, and
Dr. Kalbian in July 10, 1918, make a direct plea to
Bertha for patients in dire need of assistance from
the American Colony. |
Written appeals to Bertha Vester, 1918 and 1921.
Manuscript notes.
Manuscript Division (37a,b)
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The Spafford Children's Center
Created by Bertha Vester in 1925, to honor her mother
Anna who died in 1923, the Spafford Children's Center
today cares for more than 30,000 children each year.
The Center, located within the walls of Jerusalem's
Old City in the American Colony's first house, provides
for the physical and mental health needs of the disadvantaged
children of Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Center's
activities include preventive care programs, counseling
for children and their families on social and psychological
problems, a special education program, and a cultural
department that organizes heritage outings and summer
camps. |
Spafford Children's
Center pamphlet
Manuscript Division (40a)
|
Various activities
of the Spafford Children's Center.
Color photographs, ca. 2004.
Manuscript Division (40b,c,d)
|
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