He said the organization started with the idea of going to areas where there would be a large number of children who are curable. What they have found is there are about 150 countries, which that would be true in. "Clearly our ability to be a Christian witness in those countries is an important part of what we felt all along that we do," Harrison said. "And, in past the three or four years, we have come to realize that we have a third opportunity, and that is what appears in the headlines of our newspapers daily, and that is the conflict between radical Islam and the Christian West is something that we are uniquely able to be a small part of brunting that problem."

That first became clear with the organization’s work in Afghanistan. Cure built an infrastructure for their medical care, which was different from the work they have done in other places. It was focused on the entire population, because their medical needs where so great, the care was not restricted only to children.

"…The government really had a choice between giving it to an Islamic charity or to us, and because of what they saw us do, they gave us a 110-bed hospital. It’s truly a unique situation, I think. As one of the few Western and Christian organizations in the country, it is very much a symbol of we in the West are compassionate; we are a group of people who are willing to care and help people in need. That is an important message to give in the countries, one that is very hard to do, but one that our ministry uniquely allows us to do," Harrison said.

Typically, hospitals of this size take about 18 months to build. "As of early March, it appears that we are about six to eight weeks out from beginning to dig the footers and move forward," said Harrison.

In moving into the West Bank, CURE leadership hopes to build bridges of understanding to the Muslim world – a vision they have aggressively embraced after opening a successful hospital and clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2005 and acquiring another hospital in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, last year.

CURE also operates hospitals in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia. In addition, the organization plans to build new hospitals in Egypt, Ethiopia and Niger over the next two years.

There are 350 million disabled children in the world. CURE International focuses on the 140 million who can be cured, providing care by training nationals to be experts in care provision.

CURE International is a Christian non-profit organization committed to the physical and spiritual healing of disabled children in developing countries. CURE International transforms the lives of children and their families, serving all by establishing specialty teaching hospitals, building partnerships and advocating for those who need healing. To date, CURE has performed 41,000 surgeries and treated more than 600,000 patients. For more information visit www.helpcurenow.com.