A Heart for Helping 
Former Resident of Priest River Assists Sick Arab Children

Coeur d'Alene Press                                                                                    23 November 2004

By Brian Walker 

POST FALLS -- When it comes to helping others, there are no borders for Amy Newcomb.

"I believe that a sick Iraqi or Palestinian child is our child," Newcomb said. "We should always love our neighbor as ourselves and strive to reach out to people who need help, no matter where they are from or who they are."

Newcomb, 28, is volunteering for a year in Amman, Jordan, for an agency called Shevet Achim, which brings Arab children to Israeli hospitals for heart surgeries.

Her main job is providing hospitality for patients and families in her two-bedroom apartment and managing logistics for them to travel from their home to the hospital.

"Providing a safe place to sleep, warm food and a loving, accepting environment makes the long journey easier, and also gives us the opportunity to show people acts of reconciliation," said Newcomb, who was raised in Priest River and lived in the Coeur d'Alene area for 18 years. "The families are so grateful and realize we are giving, not because we are a wealthy organization, but because we love them."

Iraqi families and Palestinians living in Gaza are responsible for getting to the border, where Shevet Achim workers like Newcomb pick them up.

It's stories like that of 9-year-old Fatima Abdulaziz that make Newcomb's work rewarding. The severely underweight girl, found by an American soldier north of Baghdad, had tetralogy fallot (defects) of the heart.

Upon arrival in Amman, she collapsed and was taken to the hospital for 40 days of care. After the infection was controlled, she was flown to Cincinnati to spend eight weeks with a Christian family while she recovered from surgery.

"She returned a new child with a new heart to her home in Iraq," Newcomb said. "She was all smiles."

Shevet Achim also assists doctors. A cardiologist from Baghdad's Habibi Hospital who refers patients to the organization was recently sent to New York for 10 days of training.

Shevet Achim is looking for surgeons and hospitals willing to donate surgeries for Arab children.

"Our organization handles all the transportation and housing logistics, so the surgeries can take place anywhere in the world, including Kootenai Medical Center," she said.

Newcomb decided to serve in Jordan for a mix of personal, spiritual and professional reasons.

She hopes her experience will open opportunities in the medical field. The volunteer work was a logical next step after receiving a degree in intercultural studies from Biola University in Los Angeles in 2002 and then working for a nearby doctor's office for two years.

Newcomb's parents, Terry and Carol, who live in Post Falls, are supportive of the message Amy is bringing to the Middle East.

"Amy has always had a heart for people in difficult circumstances," Carol said. "Even as a young girl she was interested in her classmates who were underprivileged."

Newcomb said she feels a personal responsibility to volunteer in Jordan.

"I feel that when our country invaded Iraq that we should take some responsibility for the citizens," she said. "Our great wealth, especially in the medical world, can save many children who live in war-torn communities."