IRT supports two projects in Jordan. The first is at the Italian hospital in the capital, Amman, and the second at a school for blind and low vision children in the city of Irbid. I was able to visit the country in October 2008 to see the projects for myself.

Jordan itself is a beautiful country and quite a popular tourist destination with breathtaking antiquities and holy places in different parts of the country. The people themselves are wonderfully warm and helpful. Amman is an oasis of calm in a troubled region - it sits directly between Palestine to the West and Iraq to the East.

Refugee girl receiving treatment at the Italian Hospital in Amman, Jordan.This was my first visit to Jordan and I have to admit that I was most impressed with the work we support. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian and Iraqi people have fled their own countries to become refugees in Jordan. The majority live in poverty and if they or their families become ill they are not able to afford treatment at hospitals and health clinics in the country. IRT provides a fund at the Italian Hospital that helps the poorest refugees and Jordanian citizens to gain treatment. The hospital itself is a charity and, while it does not charge much for treatment, it has to cover its running costs.

I was taken around the hospital by the medical Director Dr. Khalid Shammas and a Comboni Missionary Sister, Sr. Carmen Herrrer. I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the hospital was and really pleased to see how committed the staff were.

I was able to witness a young Iraqi girl undergoing surgery to repair a fracture to her skull (caused by a fall) and the removal of a blood clot. Later in the day I saw her sitting up in bed talking with her father and two days later she was discharged, well on the way to making a full recovery. It was so satisfying to know that IRT had built and equipped the operating theatre and helped to cover the costs of the operation.

Refugee boy learning at a specialist school supported by IRT in Irbid, Jordan.The second part of my visit to Jordan was to a school for blind and low vision children in the city of Irbid. The school is also open to sighted children and is the only school that integrates blind and low vision children with sighted in the country.

IRT supported the building of two classrooms in 2005 and now we support the salary of one of the five Braille teachers at the school. Most of the teaching aids are simple but very practical and locally made. What are missing are Braille machines but I hope IRT will be able to find the funds to acquire these later in the year.

So all in all a successful visit. When I meet with the IRT Trustees in December I will certainly be recommending that IRT continues to support these most worthwhile projects.

IRT's new website is up and running! I hope you find it informative and inspiring. I'm Adrian Hatch, the Chief Executive of IRT and over the coming months I will be reporting on the field trips I will be making. I will be in Jordan in October visiting the work we support at the Italian hospital in Amman and I'll also be going to the town of Erbid to see a school for blind and partially sighted children where we have built classrooms and are currently covering the costs of a braille teacher.

In November I will be travelling to the towns of Yambio and Nzara in Southern Sudan. We support a number of projects with several different organisations in these towns and while I will be looking at the work we currently support I will also be looking to identify new projects. Watch this space!

Adrian Hatch, Chief Executive