WASHINGTON — December, when all eyes are on the baby Jesus, the Holy Land Family Hospital of Bethlehem wants others to think about modern-day babies in the city in the West Bank where the Gospel says Christ was born.
That’s where many babies are born to struggling families, increasingly in a tense environment similar to the one the Holy Family faced upon their newborn’s birth.
Last year, to make life just a little easier for babies and their families, Michele Burke Bowe, of the hospital’s Washington-based foundation, began gathering onesies, the tiny one-piece suits many newborns wear, to give to Bethlehem’s newest residents.
“It’s a wonderful gesture of solidarity. Most of the families are poor and many come from desert communities where there is no heat, running water or electricity. It’s a kind gesture to give a mother a gift on the occasion of the birth of a child, just like the Three Kings,” she said in an Dec. 6 email interview.
Clothing donations or financial donations can be sent to: Holy Family Hospital Foundation, 2000 P St. NW, Suite 310, Washington, DC 20036. Help is needed year-round.