Newsletter of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, Summer 2012

In this edition:

Help with showerevenings

Deafblind Mohammed A heart for CBR

Summer 2012

P.O.Box 15, Salt 19110, Jordan, Tel. + 962 5 3554953Fax + 962 5 3554951, E-mail [email protected]

“...God is giving us a vision for big tents...”

Deafinitely connected - God provides

2

Letter

Dear Friends,

Imagine a Bedouin tent. Perhaps

you have seen them, those (Arabic)

“houses of hair”. Wool from goats,

woven into black cloth with white

stripes, is sewn together into a very

large sheet which forms the roof of

a tent. When hot and dry the cloth leaves air through but in cool and wet

weather the wool swells and the pores close to make it waterproof.

A small tent would have two “rooms” of some 3 x 3 meters, altogether some

8 x 3 meters of floor space. As only one main pole keeps up the centre, it is

called a “one-pole house of hair”.

Big tents, reflecting the function and importance of the owner or the

community, can be huge. They may be 10 or 12 “poles” (or more) long with

extra poles along the sides, i.e. some 40 meters long by 4 to 8 meters deep.

The pins and ropes are put wide to take the strain and keep the tent from

collapsing. They may accommodate hundreds of people who will find a place

for celebrations, weddings or funerals. Perhaps a sheikh or King would come

and people from far and wide would gather to receive him in “their” tent, and

kill the fatted calf or camel. Often there is trouble and peace meetings are

required, with the sheikh, elders and men sharing, speaking their mind,

venting their grievances or making peace, to be concluded with the all-

important cup of coffee and a communal meal.

“We prayed for a big tent! And so our “Holy

Land Institute for the Deaf” tent has grown

beyond the confines of a family-tent.”

“Enlarge the place of your tents, make the tent cords longer and the

stakes stronger”… Isaiah 54, 2

3

Letter

(Free translation of the text) - “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch forth

the carpets that form the backs and dividers of your “rooms”. Don’t be stingy

but make the cords of your tents longer so they can hold up an even larger

stretch of cloth. Strengthen the stakes and pins so they won’t pull out of the

ground. Make the tent bigger so it can accommodate more people. Enlarge

your tent to the right and the left and move your boundaries towards the

south and the north. Conquer the peoples, and if they so desire, invite them

to your tent to make peace.”

We prayed for a big tent! And so our “Holy Land Institute for the Deaf” tent

has grown beyond the confines of a family-tent, it is a “community-tent” that

is still getting larger (to the right and the left, north and south). Indeed, we

are enormously grateful for the Outreach, Training and other activities that

you read about in this News letter, as we are being blest with the more

numerous children; and because God is giving us a vision for big tents…

With warm regards and every blessing also on behalf of children and co-workers

Brother Andrew

A genuine Bedouin tent,

that can be rented from the

German society “Friends of

the Holy Land Institute for

the Deaf”

4

Outreach

The Outreach effect

Supporters of the HLID in Salt are familiar with the work in the

school. But there are more disabled people in Jordan who need help.

The experience of the HLID, built up over the past 48 years of work in

the field of disability, is very valuable. That is where the Outreach

team comes in. They work together with other organizations and local

committees to improve and upgrade the care and education of Deaf

and handicapped members of the community. It is time to take a

closer look.

The Outreach team is seconded and supported by a Network of five

specialized institutions:

= Al-Dhia’ Association (blind/low vision)

= Raja’ Centre (intellectually impaired)

= HLID (Deaf, hard-of-hearing and deafblind)

= Palestine Hospital (health care)

= A large Institute for physically disabled children

The Outreach team (from left):

Yasmine (physical therapist), Karimeh (specialist intellectually impaired

from the Raja’ Centre, Lea (specialist visual impairment from the Al-Dhia’

Association), Nouwar (occupational therapist), Tanya (specialist for Deaf

education / speech therapy from HLID) and Sabri (head of the team).

Jawdat (physical therapist) is also a team member.

5

Outreach

Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)

Due to cultural issues and the relatively high degree of poverty in the rural

areas, people with disabilities are often isolated. The HLID is specialized in

offering services for Deaf and Deafblind children and young people. To be able

to serve people with other disabilities in Jordan, the HLID works together with a

number of specialized organizations that have the necessary specialist

knowledge.

The advantage of having cross-disability teams (with specialists in various

disabilities) means that per team visit to a local community, village or school,

almost all disabilities can be dealt with at the same time for medical care,

rehabilitation or education.

But a team of specialists is not enough. The help of local communities is

essential. That is why the Outreach team trains volunteers from local villages to

follow up and handle old and new cases. They go out to find children with

disabilities for rehabilitation and education, explaining to their parents why it is

important for their children to come to the center or engage in a programme.

The Outreach team, the local committees, volunteers and children with

disabilities form the basis of this Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR). The

input of the Outreach teams end when the local community understands its role

and continues to support the CBR programme. However, the Outreach team

may continue to provide training and support and will often follow up cases

according to need.

Such CBR programs exist in the Jordan Valley (Jofeh and Kreimeh), in the

“Badia” (the edge of the desert in the east), in Sukhneh near Zarqa and in the

Madaba refugee camp.

HLID audiologist Malak at work in

Madaba

Sabri and Tanya with Deaf students

in Madaba

6

Outreach

Sabri (61), head of Outreach

Sabri was a math and science teacher in Kuwait back in

1974. When, one day, he was asked to work in a Deaf

school he, at first, resisted. His hesitation however

turned into a passion and he eventually received training in England, USA and

visited most of the Arab countries. Because of the Gulf war he came to Jordan

in 1990 where he got in touch with the HLID. As head of the Outreach

department Sabri now coordinates several project in Jordan where community

based rehabilitation and education programmes are being conducted.

Muslim - and retired!

Sabri is a Muslim and the organization he works for has a Christian identity.

But that is no problem. Sabri: “I see Brother Andrew as my big Brother and

I love him very much. I’m helping people and so does he. It is actually very

good that we work together! And at the Institute people cooperate well with

each other”.

He is 61 and still works 6 days a week. Time to take a step back? Sabri: “I

work because I like to work. Maybe I will start working less, but my team

says that if I would leave the work, they would leave together with me...”

Ups and Downs

It is always very hard to explain to the local communities what this kind of

work is all about. Another downside is that after intense training for two or

three months a volunteer may suddenly leave for various reasons. Then you

have to start all over again, although the training obviously never goes to

waste. It just means that somewhere else there is a new trained person in the

field of disability. Transportation also is difficult because the work is being

done throughout Jordan (Sabri alone drives about 800 km per week).

On the other hand, according to Sabri: “Outreach is a very nice programme

for helping people. I enjoy dealing with parents and families and it is

gratifying to see when they have understood”.

“Outreach is a very nice programme for helping people”

7

‘BEIT SALEEM’ in Jofeh: a heart for CBR

The Community-Based Rehabilitation Center ‘Beit Saleem’ in Jofeh - in the Jordan

Valley near the Dead Sea - is evidence that the CBR concept works. It started in

2004 by simply visiting families and drinking lots of tea. After some years a

Vocational Training programme was added, which eventually moved into a

beautiful building (donated by a Jordanian family) with a unique natural (micro-

climate) cooling system based on millennia-old Arab applied sciences as practiced

in countries such as Syria (with its wonderful fountains) and Yemen (with the

typical and very efficient wind-towers).

After years of training and experience recently three volunteers were newly

employed by the HLID for the Vocational Training and Employment centre in

Jofeh. This makes it possible to stay open for an extra two hours, from 7:00 am

now till 3:00 pm. The CBR programme is run by volunteers but uses the centre

as a home-base for its activities.

Outreach

KREIMEH Community Rehabilitation Centre

Kreimeh is a town in the Jordan Valley, some 60 km north of Jofeh and 60 km

from the Institute in Salt. Soon it will have a Centre that is almost identical to

the centre in Jofeh.

Recently the government gave the Institute a land-grant of 4200 m2.

Immediately a perimeter wall of 260 meters was built around it in order to

safeguard the land from squatters, who could claim troublesome squatters’

rights. A concrete platform was built as well, which will take the pre-

fabricated house that used to accommodate the deafblind unit and was kept

in storage at the Institute.

We are very grateful to the Jordanian “Samer Mouasher family” and Mrs.

Mouasher’s family foundation (Swedish) for the donation of a substantial

amount of money towards the wall and platform.

The Deaf boy Maher has become an

expert with the jigsaw. When the

carpentry teacher left, manager

Yousef (left) instructed this boy

himself. Now he does an excellent job

in making fine woodwork. When the

products are sold, Maher shares in the

profits too. In the back: head of

Outreach Sabri.

8

Outreach

Wheels for Jofeh

The father and mother of this handicapped child are visibly happy with this

specially adjusted wheel chair which they received from the American

organization ‘The Joni and Friends International Disability Center (IDC)’. In

November last year volunteers provided 40 wheel chairs for the children of

the Jofeh center. In a few

days they fitted every chair

carefully to the children’s

needs. This year they hope

to come back again.

Trees and paint from

Baxter

On the 18th of January

65 volunteers from

Baxter Pharmaceuticals

(a huge American

company) planted 47

trees and painted the

small ‘school’ for the

intellectually impaired

children in Jofeh as part

of their social services

programme. This is the

second time this

company provided help

in Jofeh, which is much

appreciated.

65 managers of the American pharmaceutical

company Baxter paint a small house and plant

trees

The American organization

IDC donated, delivered

and fitted 40 wheel chairs

for the children of the

Jofeh center

9

Publications

STRIDE published two Arabic language study books in the series

‘Understanding Deafblindness - Issues, Perspectives and Strategies’. From a

list of 51 titles about Deaf(blind) education and Deaf(blind) culture that are

(almost) ready for publication, right now 10 were published.

Sign language names from the Old and New Testament

The Institute’s Sign language department has prepared and published two

booklets with the names of Biblical people and places in the Old Testament

and the New Testament. We hope that this material will also be useful to Deaf

people elsewhere as it reflects the local Sign language(s) of the ‘Holy Land’.

Dictionary

After years of intense work the

dictionary “Jordanian Sign

Language - Arabic - English” is

soon to be printed. The last

time-consuming work mainly

concerned correction and

layout. Graphic designer Jamal

(left) and the English teacher

Jamil did a great job.

Sign language department

S.T.R.I.D.E.

Teachers’ training courses in Iraq

From the end of February till the beginning of April the head of the STRIDE

department, Samir, went to Iraq for the teacher training programme. The first

two weeks he conducted a basic course for about 14 teachers of the Deaf in

northern Iraq (Kurdistan). During the second part of the programme - with a

trip of 3400 km through five governates in the south of Iraq - he conducted an

advanced course for 15 teachers.

The most successful four teachers will receive further training in Salt later this

year. During his stay he also gave two awareness seminars to parents of deaf

children to teach them how to deal with deafness and disability. His return to

Jordan was delayed because of trouble at Baghdad airport. We are always

immensely grateful for his faithfulness and quiet courage and his safe return to

school, family and friends.

(Salt Training and Resource Institute for Disability, Etc.

New boy in deafblind unit

In February Mohammed (6) came to the

Deafblind unit. The first few weeks at the

Institute have been an adjustment. Unaware of night and day, a sleep schedule

provides the regularity needed for him to be active during the day and then sleep

at appropriate hours.

As light pours through the window, Mohammed’s head turns as his cloudy eyes

seek out this intrusion into his internal world. Hands placed under his arms signal

that he will be picked up. A bottle placed in front of him, slowly moved to his

mouth, is also understood. A spoon to his mouth, though, receives much protest

as Mohammed did not learn to eat properly at home. Already, he has started to

eat semi-solids, which will provide much needed nourishment for his fragile body.

The daily care and presence of

people will help Mohammed to

become aware of how his actions

affect those around him, an

essential element for developing

meaningful communication. Without

the services provided by the HLID, Mohammed would continue to struggle at

home and often in isolation. Now he has a chance for a better quality of life.

Such opportunities fundamentally change the lives of these children.

The new deafblind boy Mohammed

experiments with the sensory stimulation

of light and dark, together with new

teacher Maria

Now Mohammed has achance to fundamentally

change his life

Studies for Brent

The American volunteer Brent will soon

leave the Institute for a two year education

at Boston College to get a Master’s degree in

deafblind education. He came as a volunteer

to the Institute in autumn 2009, supported

by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).

From that time onwards he worked with

deafblind Mohammed (17) in his loving,

patient, firm and wonderfully understanding

way. It is not a simple matter to think for

two deaf people at the same time. 8

Brent with new Mohammed and

the deaf student Rihaam, who

cares for him

Deafblind unit

10

11

Deafblind unit

A little friend for Mourhaf

Recently Liwa told us, that “her” deafblind Mourhaf (3) has a little friend

now. After the summer little Deaf Raami (5) came to the school as a new

Kindergarten student. Maybe it is because Raami and Mourhaf eat at the

same table or because they have the same height, what ever, Raami indeed

decided that they are friends now. Now he often spends his breaks with

Mourhaf, he does, whatever the other does and he speaks to him in Sign

language, even though Mourhaf cannot see. But it seems that Raami is not

bothered by that. Also when we took those pictures, Raami signed over and

over again to Mourhaf, that he has to look into the camera, while Mourhaf

time and again groped for Rami as if he wanted to ask what was going on.

8 During the past semester Brent has had the opportunity to train Ibtihal, a

Deaf Jordanian, University educated teacher for Special Education. We also

hope that after the summer the team will be strengthened by new volunteers.

We want to thank Brent for his extra two years which he gave to the Institute

and Mohammed on top of his intended stay of one year.

12

Sahel (Pastoral worker and Sign language team HLID)

together with FELM Deaf pastor Janne Rissanen

“Friends of the HLID” with Ruth (4th from left),

Thomas (2nd f.l.), Monika (middle, blue scarf),

Wilma (3rd f.r.) and Henry (4th f.r.)

Meeting “Friends of the HLID”

At the end of March representatives of the supporting societies ‘Friends of the

Holy Land Institute for the Deaf’ from Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands

and Great Britain gathered in England for their annual meeting. Unfortunately

Director Brother Andrew and General Manager Iyad could not attend for

various reasons, but volunteers Rafael and Ruth did a great job as

spokespersons for the Institute.

Apart from hearing the news about the Institute they informed each other about

the results of the past year. They also worked hard to improve the publications

and website of the HLID in order to be able to find more ‘friends’. The

suggestions for improvements by Tom (NL) were received with enthusiasm.

One of the improvements is the new yellow appearance of this newsletter. We

hope you like it.

The sponsor secretaries Monika (CH), Wilma (NL), Thomas (D) and Henry

(GB) were happy to be able to have personal contact with Rafael (CH), who is

now the person responsible for the sponsorships in Salt.

Plans were made for the next meeting to be held in Salt in 2014 on the

occasion of the golden jubilee of the HLID, and all countries will try to organize

a trip of interested sponsors to the school.

The PR development team

Rafael (left, CH / Jordan)

and Tom (NL)

General news

Visitors from Finland

In February a delegation from the Finnish Evangelical

Lutheran Mission (FELM) visited the Institute and the

center in Jofeh. The Director of the Finnish Centre in

Jerusalem together with its Deaf pastor and his Sign

language interpreter came to see the work of the

Institute as well as the Outreach and the Sign language

team. We are exploring activities we could do together.

13

Princess Haya Award for HLID

The HLID has won the Princess Haya Award for Special

Education in the category ‘Outstanding Special Needs

Center’. It was selected from a long list of nominations

from the Middle East region. The award is ‘a recognition

and motivation for all those who pledged their lives to

helping people with special needs’.

It seeks to encourage people working in the ‘Special

Needs’ sector to set higher standards and excel in all fields

of special education. The award was set up in 2009 by

HRH Princess Haya of Jordan, daughter of the late King

Hussein and wife of the Vice-President of the United Arab

Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. With the award comes the

amount of almost 40,000 Euros.

Special education Award

The HLID was also awarded a recognition for “best special needs institutions of

the year in Jordan’, by the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with

Disabilities. The HLID scored 96/100 on a standardized evaluation.

We are tremendously grateful for these recognitions of the wonderful work by

staff and students, and particularly of God’s grace that is absolutely

indispensable - and has made the institute what it is.

Annual report

The annual report 2010-2011 of the Institute has been published. It

contains information about the achievements of the different departments.

It also gives an insight into the financial situation. The annual report can be

downloaded at www.holyland-deaf.org/uk, or requested via the addresses

on the back of this newsletter.

Building activities

The boys play one of their daily football

matches. In the background the

construction of the new administration /

deafblind building. Also because a part of

the audiology work has been transferred to

Amman extra space has become available

for the expansion of the deafblind unit.

General news

14

Help needed Currently, there is a need for …

= a competent manager for the Vocational Training

= a capable Institute’s marketing officer (for printed and digital PR, website, etc.)

= a couple with compassion for the boarding houses and students

= qualified help for Joshua in the Vocational Training department

= skilled volunteers to support Yousef in the new Kreimeh CBR Centre

= an energetic manager for the Audiology department

Higher Education in Special Education

Two Deaf teachers, Fadileh and Rawan, continued with their Higher Education

and are working towards an MA (Master’s degree) Special Education.

Staff & volunteers

A special group visit

It was a great joy for us when in April a group

of fourteen mostly elderly people from

Switzerland came for ten days. Most of these

friends have followed the joys and struggles of

the school in the last 34 years from a distance,

they prayed for us and helped financially.

They enjoyed the children and the many

improvements in the institute, which has

encouraged us to gladly continue our work.

Apart from a few days of travel in beautiful

Jordan, they helped in the metal and carpentry

workshops and created 34 new curtains out of

50 metres of textile. Even a new website was

developed.

We are expecting a German group in May and

a Dutch group of Deaf people in November.

Especially in spring time we often welcome

groups of tourists and pilgrims who ask to visit the Institute.

After 34 years Joshua’s previous

supervisor in Switzerland came to

help

15

This way they learn to take responsibility

Usually the children in the boarding houses have their showers and

baths in the evening of specific days. Then the young Deaf adults are

on duty to help the little children. However, when it’s dark, cold or

rainy outside, the little children have their showers already in the

afternoon soon after school hours. However, in the afternoons, the

older boys work in the Vocational Training. Then the middle group of

boys, who are mostly between 13 and 14 years old, will help the little

boys have their shower.

For example, Sahem makes sure that all boys get undressed and arrange their

dirty clothes for the laundry. Ishaaq and Mohammed Areqat help with the

water and soap, Salah edDeen helps to towel off the boys and Hamzeh

distributes the body powder where needed. Aktham cuts nails and

Mohammed Salman is responsible for giving out clean clothes to the little

boys. In the evening Seif edDeen and Mowafaq make sure that every boy

gets some vaseline to prevent dry skin and lips. In this way the boys learn to

take responsibility for each other and to care for smaller children.

F.l.t.r. back: Hamzeh, Mohammed Areqat, Mowaffaq and Sahem.

Front: Seif edDeen, Mohammed Salman, Ishaaq, Aktham and Salah edDeen

Who is who in this picture? Guess!

School, children and students

Friends of the HLID - United Kingdom

(Formerly Allah Kariem-UK)

Chairman / treasurer / sponsor

coördinator:

Mr. Henry Hanning, The Corner House,

Hermitage, Thatcham, Berks RG18 9RW,

tel: +44 1635 200329,

email: [email protected] and

[email protected]

Bank Account: No 00092614 Allah Kariem

(UK) Deposit Account, CAF Bank Ltd,

25 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling,

Kent ME19 4JQ, Sort Code 405240

Friends of the Holy Land Institute for

the Deaf

Dominic Afzali, 3006 Blaisdell Ave, Redondo

Beach, CA 90278, USA, tel. +1 310 874 1325,

email: [email protected]

Holy Land Mission Committee

Chairperson: Jane Gilcrist c/o Christ Church

Alexandria, 118 North Washington Street,

Alexandria, VA 22314, USA,

email: [email protected]

School, children and studentsNew gym equipment

We are grateful for financial support from the HSBC Bank - Jordan and the

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in the USA. They provided for

professional gymnastics equipment for the gym and for the new therapy room

of the deafblind unit. The new material and equipment will help all students

improve their physical skills and fitness.

Ala shows his agility on the new equipment, supported and

encouraged by new physical education teacher Rima

Please visit our website: www.holyland-deaf.org/uk