On International Women’s Day, please join us in celebrating women around the world by championing their voices on this special day and beyond. We, at SAMS, are indebted to the tireless work and dedication of our female healthcare workers inside Syria who continue to risk their lives to save others, as well as our female medical professionals and volunteers from around the world who remind us of our shared humanity.
“One of the most horrifying moments was when I was working at a hospital in Ariha. I was in the operating room, trying to save a mother and her unborn child, when a bomb struck the hospital. I couldn’t leave my patient and run for my life.”
– Dr. Mithal Juma’a, SAMS Al Qah Maternity Hospital
For the past decade of ongoing conflict in Syria, we have witnessed harrowing violence, displacement, and loss of life, yet women have proven over and over again that they are a force to reckon with. They have adapted in the face of unfathomable obstacles and challenges. Their strength and resilience inspire us to continue to do what we do best– save lives and deliver dignified to every patient in need.
SAMS is committed now more than ever to supporting women’s health, while raising awareness on the rejection of violence against women and girls in any form. As such, SAMS employs 604 female medical workers in Syria alone, provides ongoing psychosocial support to gender-based violence (GBV) survivors, delivers an average of 20,00 babies per year at our facilities in northwest Syria, and supports the next generation of female medical workers by operating three medical institutes in Idlib, two midwifery schools and one nursing school.
“It’s an indescribable feeling that I have every time I see a big smile on my patients’ faces after they receive care. Most of my younger patients have known nothing but displacement.”
– Dr. Rania Al-Shaltouni, a dentist at SAMS Medical Center in Zaatari Refugee Camp.
Join us today and every day in celebrating and standing with women around the world, especially those caught in conflict. Please consider making a gift to SAMS in celebration of female healthcare workers in Syria and beyond.
