For the past two weeks, MAP has been highlighting the immense contribution of some of the women working on our projects in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Today is celebrated as Mother’s Day in Lebanon and Palestine, and so MAP has chosen to interview Lamis Maluelein, a Community Nurse with our Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Project in Lebanon, about her life and work.
Lamis is a Palestinian nurse and mother of two children, a nine-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter, who works in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Helweh and the surrounding gatherings in southern Lebanon. In 1948, her family were displaced from their hometown of Acre in Palestine, and settled at the outskirts of the city of Saida.
The restrictions on the jobs Palestinians are permitted to hold in Lebanon played a big part in her career choice. Though she initially wanted to be an English teacher, her parents advised her to pursue nursing: “Palestinians often don’t have the luxury of choosing a career that they are passionate about,” she said. “We have to choose a field of study that it is more likely for us to find a job in. In Lebanon, there is a shortage in qualified nurses, so hospitals and health centers tend to accept Palestinian nurses.”
Ultimately Lamis is pleased that she chose this career path, though she says that Palestinians still face discrimination in the workplace. “We have to work harder,” she says, reflecting on her first nursing job in a private Lebanese hospital. “But eventually employers start appreciating our skills and character regardless of our nationality. In this hospital, I succeeded in gaining colleagues’ respect and appreciation.”
After a period of work as a nurse for UNRWA, the agency responsible for providing the majority of vital services to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Lamis joined MAP’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) project in 2010. The refugee camp in which she works suffers frequent violent confrontations between political factions. Residents, she says, are scared, and face severe challenges to their wellbeing: “They say that clashes could erupt at any time without prior notice. There is also overcrowding, unhealthy living conditions, and extreme poverty. However, these difficult conditions do not keep them from being generous, kind, caring, and dignified.”
The problems of poor nutrition, insufficient birth spacing, infection, and developmental delay are particularly high among Lebanon’s Palestinian communities, and perinatal mortality is over double that among the Lebanese population. The MCH project employs nurses and midwives to provide care for pregnant women, new mothers, and their children. Lamis is part of this effort: “Our home visits last between 30 minutes to an hour. This allows time for a health checkup, providing some health education, and listening to the mother’s concerns and answering questions. The women look forward for our visits; when they see us in the camp they come and say hi, and many stay in touch even after they exit the programme. It’s obvious that we make a difference for them.”
The education element, she believes, is particularly important: “Many women have poor health practices, either influenced by traditional unscientific beliefs or lack of knowledge. Over the years, we’ve been trying to challenge misconceptions by giving evidence-based health advice.”
But her care and advice for mothers goes beyond her duties as a nurse: “On one occasion almost five years ago, I was visiting an 18-year-old pregnant woman who asked my opinion about a personal matter. She wanted to continue her higher education and study at the university, something none of the women in her family had previously done.” Lamis encouraged her to pursue this dream. “I told her that I know many women who have gone back to school and graduated from university after having children, and that some universities have minimal tuition fees and offer distance learning. When I saw this woman few months ago she told me that she is in her senior year at the university and will soon graduate. She said that she would have not gone for it if it wasn’t for my encouragement.”
Mothers and women in general tend to prioritize the health and wellbeing of their families and neglect their own. I tell them that they need to be healthy and strong in order to be able take care of their families
Lamis’ love for her job is clear, and she encourages other women to consider it too: “Nursing is a very good choice for a career. It is a job that allows you to help others. However, in order to be a successful nurse, one needs to have certain traits, such as patience, genuine empathy and care, kindness, and good listening and communication skills. I encourage girls to seek higher education in general. Education is important for women as much as it is for men.”
Asked what piece of advice she would like to share on Mother’s Day, Lamis says “I always advise the mothers I visit to take care of themselves. Mothers and women in general tend to prioritize the health and wellbeing of their families and neglect their own. I tell them that they need to be healthy and strong in order to be able take care of their families.”
You can learn more about our MCH project in Lebanon here.