AFOPA: Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Palestine
Dr Francis Nathan, a distinguished Adelaide-based ophthalmologist, has been a voluntary participant and leader of eye surgery missions in 20 different countries for over 20 years. Recent trips have been to Palestine and Lebanon through The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. In addition to cataract surgery, these trips have involved sourcing and delivering surgical supplies and equipment, and training of locally based medical staff.
Merlin Nathan, an occupational therapist and health counsellor, was head of the Head Injury Service at Julia Farr Centre in Adelaide for over 20 years. She has visited Palestine and Lebanon since 2002, working with disabled children, mentoring young occupational therapists and other local allied health workers. She has initiated numerous projects for rehabilitation of the disabled and empowerment of women.
Francis and Merlin will share insights from their overseas missions to give us a better understanding of the situation in Palestine and Lebanon, the challenges they faced and the outcomes of their work.