For over 25 years, Jean Calder has been working with people with disabilities in Lebanon, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. An outstanding and unassuming woman, Jean has led an extraordinary life, bringing hope and joy to people living in some of the most dangerous areas of the Middle East. Jean’s work with young disabled children took her into Palestinian refugee camps where she worked tirelessly under extreme conditions.
In 1982 when a civil war broke out and most foreigners fled Lebanon, Jean stayed and cared for disabled children under a bombed-out hospital staircase. Jean now lives and works in the Gaza Strip, where life is constantly interrupted by airstrikes, checkpoints, continual fighting and hostage threats. Yet, for the last ten years, Jean has built up an internationally admired rehabilitation program which brings hope and a profound difference to many people’s lives, especially young children.
