She wasn’t expecting that—their wide smiles, the way they grabbed her hands and pulled her forward.
She was there as part of her midwifery training at Bethlehem University, serving communities without access to hospitals. Learning how to help women give birth safely under complex political crises.
And in that moment, something shifted.
Miray is in her final year of midwifery training. Her father works far from home cutting stone in unstable conditions. But still, her family encouraged her to keep going.
“Through every interaction, I learned lessons that no textbook could ever teach me,” she said. “Patience, empathy, communication, and teamwork.”
“It’s about standing with women through every step of their journey,” she wrote to a scholarship donor. “I carry my family’s hopes with me every day.”
Bethlehem University’s midwifery program is one of only two in the West Bank that includes family household visits.
Students go into villages. Into homes. Into places where women give birth without access to hospitals. While in Gaza women give birth in tents and rubble, in the West Bank 900 checkpoints limit movement and access.
In Bethlehem, midwives are trained to manage out-of-hospital births. To assist women giving birth at home, in crisis, when things don’t go as planned.
Like 2,000 years ago, when a young mother in Bethlehem gave birth in a stable because there was no room in the inn.
Bethlehem University trains 35% of all midwifery students in the West Bank. BU-trained midwives are the main providers of antenatal care in UNRWA clinics—serving Palestinian refugees and families with nowhere else to turn.
These are young women like Miray, walking into villages, holding shaky hands, offering calm voices in chaos.
They don’t just deliver babies—they deliver hope.
Your gift supports scholarships and faculty at Bethlehem University—Palestine’s future midwives, nurses, and healthcare workers.
It’s for young women like Miray—who are bringing new life into the world when everything around them is unstable.
It ensures women in the West Bank and Gaza don’t have to give birth alone, without care, without dignity.
Here’s what your gift provides:
In Bethlehem, young mothers still bring new life into the world against all odds.
The Light born here two thousand years ago still shines.
In the donation form, from the drop down menu, select one of the fours funds for your Christmas gift: the Midwifery Program, Saint Teresa of Calcutta Nursing Endowment, the Gaza Student Initiative, or the General Scholarship Fund. Then click “donate and support.” Thank you for your partnership to advance higher education for Palestinian young people this Christmas.
“The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.’”
(Luke 2:10-11)
The invitation not to fear is a challenging one amid the suffering our students and their families have endured over the past two desolate years of economic and emotional hardship. Yet, the good news of the Savior’s birth in Bethlehem, the city of David, calls us to keep our lamps of faith, hope, peace, and solidarity with the most vulnerable burning bright.
This Christmas, may those lamps shine through our generosity, so that every act of giving becomes a spark of hope for a student in need. Together, we can help them feel the transforming power of the Christ Child’s presence among us—a light that renews hearts and futures alike.
Brother Hernán Santos, FSC
Vice Chancellor, Bethlehem University