Medical Supplies
For those in Israel burdened with being both sick and poor, the donations you give through Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse provide a hand of mercy in their deepest need. “Come let us return to the LORD...He will heal us...He will bandage us” (Hosea 6:1). Now with sharply rising healthcare costs, more Israelis are in need than ever before. The amount Israeli families must spend on healthcare each month has shot up to double what it was ten years ago. For the poorest 10% of the population, the government pays all medical expenses. But those who are slightly above that deep level of poverty often find that they have fallen into a terrifying gap – they are not poor enough for the State to pay, but they are too poor to afford necessary medicines or doctor visits on their own.
“Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine” (Ezekiel 47:12).
“Should I buy medicine this month or food?” It is a question which too many have told us they were facing before Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse stepped in to help. A government report released this June has put numbers to the struggles that we have seen every day. According to the report, poor Israelis are far sicker than others in the country‚ 4.7 times more likely to suffer from diabetes, 2.5 times more likely to have asthma, and 4.3 times more likely overall to be wrestling with a chronic illness.
We refuse to let these sons and daughters of Israel suffer in silence. Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse are committed to obey the command of the Messiah, “Heal the sick” (Matthew 10:8). There is a Jewish saying, “Whoever saves a life in Israel, it is as if he has saved the whole world.” We have forged strategic partnerships with retirement homes, clinics, and hospitals to bring in resources that will allow the sick to be treated even when their insurance won’t cover all expenses.
With your assistance, Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse have donated beds, bedpans, blankets, bandages, and high-cost items like breathing machines. “Aid from outside certainly is of help,” the director of one of Israel’s major hospitals says of the aid from Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse, “because it allows us to divert funds from issues that we would otherwise have to take care of to more serious capital expenses. We have a severe budgetary deficit, as do other hospitals in the country.”
Unfortunately, many who find themselves both poor and sick are elderly citizens whose age limits their mobility, as well as making it hard to reach doctors or even move about freely. Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse work with a number of retirement homes to ensure that their residents have access to needed items, even if they are not covered by insurance. At one facility in Rishon Letzion that is home to almost 500 residents, Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse has brought in beds, walkers, syringes, adult diapers, special cushions, and chairs. “The walkers you see here are necessities that residents can’t live without,” says the director of the facility. “Without them, they would just stay in their beds.”
Another organization, which we have sought to bless, is a medical facility outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. It cares for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. There, too, Vision for Israel has provided beds, wheelchairs, oxygen machines, syringes, diapers, special cushions, and many other items. “We really appreciate the help that Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse have given us. We have a whole new wing where we opened thirteen beds for cancer patients and all these beds came from Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse. The situation in this country is very hard, it is more and more difficult for patients to have their care paid for by health insurance. We do not believe that patients should suffer, especially at the end of their lives, because of financial difficulties.”
When we visited a retirement community with another donation, one elderly Jewish patient made a special point of seeking us out to say, “Seeing what you have done here has made me realize that there are still people who care about other people in the world.” Thanks to your support, Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse is able to lift up those who have fallen through the cracks in the system. When the Messiah told us to heal the sick, he gave a wonderful reason for the commandment at the end of the same verse: “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Life giving is life saving; please continue to help Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse give to those in Israel most in need of comfort and healing.
Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry & Batya Segal Co-founders of Vision for Israel & The Joseph Storehouse Your financial and material assistance goes a long way to helping those who are infirm in Israel, the elderly, the handicap and the children in need. Send your donation now and touch someone’s life with a healing hand. |
Follow us