History

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was seen as the War of Independence in the Israeli historiography; however, the Palestinian people refer to it as “Nakba” or catastrophe in Arabic, as the land dispute displaced several hundred thousand persons.

Hedwig Vetter, an employee of Caritas Switzerland, traveled to Bethlehem in 1949 and battled the torment of the displaced Palestinian population after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Along with the support of Palestinian physician Dr. Antoine Dabdoub, she established an outpatient clinic for babies which laid the foundation for Caritas Baby Hospital. Caritas Switzerland sent Father Ernst Schnydrig, from the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, to Bethelehem in 1952 to assess the refuge situation upon which he met Hedwig Vetter. As proper good Christians, they felt obligated to assist the people who called the birthplace of Jesus their home.

Schnydrig began his career at German Caritas Association upon his return to Europe; afterwards, his goal was to champion the cause of Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem by securing financial support in Switzerland and Germany. In 1963, Children’s Relief Bethlehem (CRB) was established as a non-profit association that’s based in Lucerne.

Since April 1978, when Caritas Baby Hospital opened the doors with its own facilities, its goal has been to develop and align its provisions with global medical standards. And while it was founded as a pure charity, these days they’re setting the standard for medical services offered in the West Bank.