administrator - SCM Medical Missions

July 14, 2025

Lebanon Clinic Update

Update from Dr Ranim Shehadi – Exciting New Medical Device!

At SCM Medical Center in Lebanon, our mission is rooted in providing free, high-quality healthcare to those who need it most. Over the years, we’ve proudly offered essential services including dentistry, clinical psychology, nutrition, and speech therapy, always guided by the evolving needs of our community. Through our work, we identified a growing and urgent demand for specialized care in women’s health. In response, we took action. After careful research, we acquired the advanced VINNO A5 ultrasound machine and welcomed a compassionate, highly qualified OB-GYN to our medical team.

The VINNO A5 is a high-performance diagnostic imaging system known for its precision, clarity, and efficiency. It allows for accurate, real time imaging, which plays a critical role in early detection and proper monitoring of women’s health conditions making it an invaluable tool in providing safe and effective care.

We shared this new service across our social media platforms and directly with our patients, and the response was overwhelming. Women from across the community began visiting the center, many of whom had never had access to such care before. All appointments were offered free of charge, and the positive impact was immediate and deeply moving. Seeing the relief, gratitude, and trust in our patients confirmed just how vital this service truly is.

This success encouraged by the CEO of SCM Rita Zawaideh, we are now working toward our next goal: adding an ophthalmologist to our team. By expanding into eye care, we hope to continue closing the gaps in medical access and ensure that SCM Medical Center can serve as a comprehensive health resource for every individual in need regardless of their financial situation.

Please consider donating to help us raise the $20,000 to cover the cost of the machine and the salary of the new OB/GYN.

By administrator

AfghanistanFood AidHumanitarian AidRefugees

June 6, 2025

Help for Afghan Family in Need

New Afghan Refugee Family

Urgent Help Needed for Afghan Refugee Family. They Have No Resettlement Agency/No Financial Support

Emily Hansen has been a dedicated supporter of SCM Medical Missions since 2016. She has assisted numerous Syrian refugee families as they settled into new lives in the Seattle and Spokane areas. In late 2021, her focus shifted to Afghan refugees, and through her volunteer work at SCM’s church store, she has supported over 4,000 newly arrived Afghans. Emily has personally helped hundreds of families obtain essential household and baby items, and she considers many of these individuals her friends.

Most of the families she has worked with have arrived under the care of resettlement agencies, giving them access to critical resources such as temporary financial assistance, case management, food support, medical care, and work authorizations. While the transition becomes more difficult after the 90-day resettlement support period ends, families with refugee status are generally able to work toward self-sufficiency.

Emily is now seeking urgent assistance for one of the most vulnerable Afghan families she has encountered. The family includes two parents and their three young children—a 7-year-old daughter, a 4-year-old son, and an 11-month-old baby boy. The father was formerly employed as a journalist by an American company in Kabul. Due to increasing pressure and danger, the employer helped the family flee Afghanistan. After spending time in Pakistan, they arrived in Seattle in March.

Unlike most Afghan refugee families Emily has assisted, this family arrived without the backing of a resettlement agency or any financial support. The father currently cannot work; although his former employer obtained a U.S. work permit for him, it is limited to employment with that same company, which has no available positions—remote or local—in Seattle. Additionally, the permit is temporary and will expire in six months, at which point the family would be forced to leave the U.S.

Fortunately, an American colleague of the father has provided the family with a below-market rental home in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. However, they have no means to pay rent and are entirely dependent on the generosity of others to survive.

The family’s only long-term hope is to gain asylum. A petition has already been submitted by the former employer, but a favorable decision could take months. In the meantime, Emily is asking for support on their behalf. Assistance could include rent contributions (landlord contact information available upon request), grocery store gift cards (QFC or Safeway), and diapers (currently size 4, with delivery information available for Amazon, Target, or other retailers). An Amazon list is coming soon and will be posted when it is available.

For those in the Seattle area, especially near Ravenna, the father is willing and eager to perform yard work or other casual labor. He is intelligent, hardworking, fluent in English, and deeply motivated to provide for his young family and build a secure life in the United States.

Please contact us if you are able to help this family with needed supplies, or donate to their fund by clicking button below.

By administrator

Humanitarian AidLebanonWomen & Children

April 16, 2025

SCM Clinic Report

After the sudden loss of her husband, a mother of three was left to navigate grief, financial hardship, and her young son’s emotional struggles alone. But through the compassionate support of the SCM Clinic—offering free mental health services, dental care, and basic essentials—this family found hope, healing, and a renewed sense of community. Discover how kindness transformed their lives just in time for Eid.

By administrator

Humanitarian AidLebanonMedical Aid

November 7, 2024

Lebanon Fundraiser Report

Lebanon Strong

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended and supported our Lebanon Strong event on November 2. Thanks to your generosity, we raised an impressive $75,000, including matching funds!

This brings us close to our $100,000 goal, which is essential to fund the clinic and our ongoing relief efforts in Lebanon for the next six months—assuming the current conflict resolves soon.

If you haven’t yet had the chance to donate, or if you know others who would like to support, please consider contributing to our Lebanon fund. Every gift goes directly to saving and improving lives.

Thank you again for being a part of our community of supporters and for standing with us in this critical mission.

With appreciation,

SCM

Event photos and pictures of what is being funded:

Text of Ali Osseiran’s speech at our fundraiser event on November 2, 2024.

Good evening.

4 years ago, SCM launched a food distribution program in Lebanon, providing essential items like food, blankets, milk, diapers and medical supplies. Over the years, we shipped 6 containers to support those in need. However, while distributing food, we discovered a greater demand for medical assistance, particularly dental care for children.

In January 2023, we opened the SCM Clinic in Lebanon as a modest beginning. Our team started with one dentist and has grown to include five doctors, one nutritionist, two nurses, a manager, and 15 dedicated volunteers. We have increased our patient visits from 5 daily to 25, which amounts to approximately 7,000 patients served in just one year. Our patients are a mixture of Palestinian and Lebanese. This achievement would not have been possible without Rita’s unwavering support and that alone will wipe all her sins away.

Our Programs

SCM Lebanon runs multiple programs to meet the needs of our community, including:

• 200 wheelchairs
• Trauma Center
• Food and Clothing Distribution
• Art and Drawing Workshops for Kids
• Dental and Health Education for Children and Their Families
• School Outreach Initiatives
• Dental Health and Mental Health Care

We actively visit schools daily where many of our guests are residing. Rather than calling them refugees we call them guests. With 300 to 500 families in each school, our doctors provide health exams, medications, and appointments at our clinic for their needs. SCM is committed to expanding our programs in Lebanon to reach more families in need of health and mental support. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

Thank you, Rita Z. for all that you do for the people of Lebanon.

Thank you Dr Nada Afifi. For the dental equipment that you provided.

I would like to thank Goodies Mediterranean Market for the delicious food that we are enjoying.

And a thanks to my wife Ghinaw for making the deserts.

And last of all I want to thank all of you for coming tonight.

By administrator

AfghanistanHumanitarian AidRefugeesWomen & Children

May 2, 2022

Afghan Refugee Assistance – Update

Neither Easter nor Ramadan slowed the stream of new Afghan Refugee parents and children. We were ready with provisions for Friday’s 20 families comprising 88 refugees of 42 adults and their 46 children. Met by 15 Volunteers, SCM Founder Rita and Translator Khayam, 32 parents with 14 kids came in the Center to receive lots of hygiene essentials, school supplies, computers, sewing machines and surprise Eid Celebration kits for children.

While we offer loads of clothes, when I think of the collections of “hygiene essentials” and the “Donors” (individual, nonprofit and corporate), it floods me with gratitude. This is kindness pouring out week after week because people really care about the plight and needs of the Refugees.

Our essentials for whole families: diapers; underwear; socks; baby wipes, wash, lotion and shampoo; adult body wash and bar soap; feminine sanitary pads; shampoo and conditioner; brushes and combs; toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss; deodorant; razors; reader glasses; nail clippers; cleaning products – bottles of liquid dish and laundry detergent, and cleanser. Sometimes we even have nail polish, cosmetics or jewelry to make the day a little brighter for the women.

This Hygiene Corner bulges with special extras: handmade quilts for the children, fabric “dolls for hope”; a big assortment of school supplies, color books, and often backpacks. Just past this station is a large toy area that includes stuffed animals and books that entertain children while parents get their “toys” – bicycles and helmets, laptops, or sewing machines, notions and fabric, depending on what Donors have sent us.

Committed Donors are Bicycle Rescue for Youth that serves Maple Valley and Issaquah, Covington Kiwanis Club, Sharing Wheels from Everett, Mel Nason’s Holy Spokes and Harvey’s Bike Shop in Lynnwood. Essentials First often helps us with hygiene products and joined in furnishing Eid Celebrations kits. For desperately needed laptops, Starbucks donated generously. Early learning KidsCentre in Seattle has showered us with school supplies and backpacks.

Equally impressive are places of worship who regularly contact us with help. This giving is matched by individuals who surprise us by quietly bringing needed items and gift cards, so we can replenish to meet the needs of all new arrival Afghan Refugees every week.

We can only say Thank You, Thank You to all who give and volunteer. Don’t forget them. And, don’t forget the needs of the Refugees!

~Pamela Van Swearingen, Coordinator

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Rita (2nd from the right), Pamela (3rd from the right), and Emily (2nd from the right, middle row) with our volunteers. A big thank you to all our amazing volunteers who manage the weekly distributions, collect donations, and assist the refugees when they come in. We couldn’t do it without you!

By administrator

AfghanistanHumanitarian AidRefugees

April 26, 2022

Update on the clothing/supply center

Despite Spring vacations, 16 Volunteers came to FCUMC to help 21 Refugee families. Our great Interpreter, Mohammad, facilitated the busy day of 26 adults and 10 children at the Clothing & Hygiene Center. Including spouses and little ones at home, we provided essentials for 37 adults and their 62 children. A total of 99 new arrival Afghan Refugees served!

It’s relief to give this support to share hope and friendliness. We now know many harrowing stories of unimaginable escape and long journeys from Afghanistan. All Refugees left numerous family members, their lives, identities and possessions behind while facing complete uncertainty.

Our work persists, thanks to wonderful donations – clothes, shoes, jackets, new socks and underwear, hygiene products, children’s quilts, toys, school supplies and even laptops. Sewing machines and bicycles are low. But more offers to replenish our supply of these special items may arrive in time for next Friday, when the Refugees’ holy observance of Ramadan nears the end on May 1st.

~Pamela