wfn.org | Anglican Jerusalem - Life can be hard for a child with no legs

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

October 2, 2002

JERUSALEM Life can be hard for a child with no legs.

Just ask Khalil Awad. The graduate of the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled
Childrens elementary school could not get into any school in Bethlehem
because of his physical condition he had no legs and his feet were
attached to his buttocks.

However, Khalil became the top student at the school, which contains both
disabled and able-bodied students. He went on to finish his secondary
education in Bethlehem, and today he attends a local university.

He was a very bright boy, Betty Majaj, director of the Princess Basma
Centre, recalled with a smile. He used to leap just like a frog.

Like Khalil, many disabled Palestinian children must overcome not only their
physical challenges but also cultural stereotypes about the disabled. The
Princess Basma Centre seeks to overcome those barriers through therapy,
employment programs and education.

We are witnessing Christianity through action, Majaj said, noting that the
majority of patients and employees at the center are Muslims who live in
rural areas of the West Bank.

The 37-year-old institute, which stands on the Mount of Olives, started as a
facility to provide physiotherapy for poliomyelitis victims. Today, it
provides services for children with numerous physical disabilities, while
educating parents about how to help their children. It also employs many
people with disabilities.

Majaj, who has served as the centers director since 1983, beams with
excitement as she points out the variety of programs offered at the
institute.

In one room, hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired children play
together in the same kindergarten class. At the same time, physically
handicapped men are busy weaving baskets in a room down the hall. Men
involved in this program have the opportunity to hone their carpentry
skills, too.

Occupational, play and physical therapy centers inhabit other parts of the
building, allowing specialists to test children with games and toys. The
center also offers a hydrotherapy swimming pool. Private physiotherapy rooms
allow staff to test patients with specialized machinery. Such areas are
particularly helpful for children with congenital deformities a growing
problem in Palestine.

In one physiotherapy room, a nurse gently massages the neck of a baby who
lacks part of her neck muscle. The nurse smilingly notes that the baby used
to scream during the treatment. However, the little patients relaxed gaze
on this particular day showed she had since gotten used to such therapy.

Upstairs, children in class wave and say hello to our tour group. The center
s school, which started in the late 1980s, integrates disabled children
with able-bodied children who live in local neighborhoods. Its success
prompted other schools in the villages and towns to do the same, resulting
in a Palestinian law in 1996 that prevents schools from refusing physically
disabled children. The center also has a learning program strictly for
hearing impaired children.

A one-sided mirror in yet another room allows specialists to watch mothers
interact with their children to see whether they practice what they have
learned. Mothers are asked to stay at the center during the entire duration
of their childrens three-week to three-month stays. The center also offers
mothers empowerment courses that educate women about their childrens
conditions and about their rights when interacting with doctors. Such
parental involvement is unique in Israel and Palestine, and officials from
Israels Ministry of Health have offered kudos to the center as a result.

New programs spring up at the center all the time. Starting this year, the
institute has a computer laboratory and a new library. Both of these
benefited from donations from members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints. The church is one of several religious and non-religious
groups that aid the center.

The library stands to benefit from a new diocesan book program this year.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which has overseen the Princess Basma
Centre for the past year and a half, is asking members of the Anglican
Communion to donate books this year for its various service institutions.
The program was launched in September, profiling the Princess Basma Center.
Officials.

Like other institutions in the diocese, Princess Basma has struggled since
the latest Intifada started two years ago. Many workers and potential
students in nearby communities cannot travel to the center because of
checkpoints manned by Israeli soldiers. Despite these struggles, the center
continues to press forward.

Its not impressive as a building, Majaj said recently, though some would
beg to differ, but were happy to have some treatment in an Arab
atmosphere.

Digital photos attached:
*	 Physical therapy to a baby
*	 Children in the class for the hearing impaired
*	 Vocational training
*	 Mother & child
*	 Kids!

For further information contact:
Nancy Dinsmore						  Email:
devedjer@netvision.ent.il <mailto:devedjer@netvision.ent.il>
Development Office					 Fax:  927 2 627
1670
Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem