Val Jourdan, MBE – A journey of compassion and commitment
40 years ago, in 1985, founder Val Jourdan MBE spent a year working in Bethlehem as a volunteer paediatric physiotherapist and saw first hand the lack of rehabilitation for children with physical, mental, and learning disabilities, leaving them and their families with little or no access to rehabilitation support. One year after her placement, in 1986, Val teamed up with Georgina Mortimer to start ABCD, Action around Bethlehem Children with Disabilities, a UK-registered charity.
“I realised that foreign volunteer help wasn’t the solution — but the local Palestinian therapists had enormous potential. If we could equip them with the right skills and support, they could build lasting change.”
Since then, ABCD has gone from strength to strength. Val reflects that the charity’s greatest accomplishment has been bringing together “a brilliant team of passionate, caring Trustees — who have made ABCD what it is today.”
Through a close working relationship with our on-the-ground project lead, Firas, Val and the team walk hand in hand with local partners — and now support not only The Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation – our original partners – but rehabilitation centres in six refugee camp across the West Bank.
Georgina Mortimer ABCD’s co-founder
40 years ago, in 1985, founder Val Jourdan MBE spent a year working in Bethlehem as a paediatric physiotherapist and saw first hand the lack of rehabilitation for children with physical, mental, and learning disabilities, leaving them and their families with little or no access to rehabilitation support. One year after her placement, in 1986, Val teamed up with Georgina Mortimer to start ABCD, Action around Bethlehem Children with Disabilities, a UK-registered charity.
Val and Georgina formed a strong team of commitment and friendship, Georgina embarking on many trips to the West Bank and Gaza with Val and other trustees and medical advisers to create some of the best outcomes for the many children with disability in these regions, setting up centres in villages and more remote areas for these children’s well-being via medical professionals on the ground. Visiting families in their homes to assess their needs brought families and their children closer to achieving medical interventions and which also helped to erase part of the stigma attached to these children in their community.
Georgina’s natural empathy and can-do attitude, together with Val and the team, helped to form what ABCD is known for, a hands-on approach which helped to move the charity’s remit on a pace. Georgina and her family were committed to this part of the world, tirelessly helping those who needed help to thrive.
Georgina was Chairman for many years until her untimely sad death in 2016. Her name and tireless achievements are not forgotten but celebrated.
In Georgina’s name ABCD launched an appeal to raise funds for sensory rooms for the centres which help children in a controlled environment filled with equipment and tools that stimulate or soothe the senses. The goal is to help children self-regulate and manage sensory overload. Sensory rooms are more than just play spaces—they are powerful tools for helping children feel safe, in control, and calm. Whether at home or school, a well-designed sensory room can support emotional well-being, improve learning, and promote joyful discovery.
The funding raised for our first sensory room was achieved for BASR (Bethlehem Arab Society Rehabilitation), a hospital in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem with other centres also benefitting from sensory rooms over the following two years. These rooms keep Georgina’s legacy alive as well as two wall plaques in remembrance of Georgina in two of the centres.
Today, despite an immensely challenging environment, ABCD continues to support well-run, well-resourced and sustainable rehabilitation centres, made more so by providing training to our dedicated local staff right across Palestine. We continue to develop project plans and renovate spaces, purchasing equipment and building relationships with other local health providers.