Three SSyyrriiaann RReeffuuggeeee cchhiillddrreenn

HHaannaaddyy in Switzerland

GGoollddeenn JJuubbiilleeee:: children’s drawings

December 2014

P.O. Box 15, Salt 19110, Jordan, tel.: +962 5 3554953Fax: +962 5 3554951, e-mail: HLID@go.com.jo

“The Good News is still the same!

The Almighty sent the Messiah to bring freedom!”

Deafinitely connected - God provides

In this edition:

Christmas 2014Dear Friends,

Do you follow the news? Most of us do, perhaps because we have holidayplans, or some relatives live and work somewhere in the world where thereis trouble, war, earthquake, tsunami or epidemic. Some may have a job orbusiness overseas, or simply be curious? One of the reasons I follow thenews is so I can tell our Deaf young people what is going on, especially inthe countries around us, and perhaps still their fears. Or is it really to stillmy own fear of not being prepared, an instinct left by living through some ofthe civil war in Lebanon, so long ago?

Watching the news I am always looking for the good bits, but they areseldom there, a gap that tends to get filled with golf, football and Formula 1.And the actual news – what is new - is being endlessly repeated until it toois old hat, and the good news is that the old has gone.

Soon it is Christmas, and I wonder how it was in the days of Zachariah andElizabeth – the parents of the Prophet John (the Baptizer). News for Mary’sparents in the little village of Nazareth was not very good, even without thetennis and the Formula 1. The news for Joseph and Mary - the parents, sopeople thought, of Jesus the Messiah - was also bad, when they were toldto go to Bethlehem to register. Life was hard enough and six days of travelfrom Nazareth to Bethlehem was cumbersome, dangerous and expensive, notto speak of the danger to the expectant mother and the baby in her womb.

The land of Israel was occupied by heathen Romans who let the wicked KingHerod rule. True, he did some amazing building projects, including the newTemple, but people had to pay for it and the tax burden was very heavy.King, army and police in charge of civil rule, tried to quell the demonstrationsand keep the peace, but the religious authorities, for better or for worse,really ran the place. Sounds familiar?

And then, finally: “The Good News!” For that is what the word “Gospel”means. The Messiah, the King of Kings, the Saviour, the Immanuel – Godwith us – was born in Bethlehem. Angels came to sing about it, the threewise men from the east came to worship and bring gifts. The shepherds inthe fields of Bethlehem told everybody and the people who heard wereastonished... But in fact nobody really wanted him. Jesus and his family werenot welcome in the guestrooms, and shortly afterwards they had to flee forhis life to Egypt.

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will causegreat joy for all the people.” Luke 2:10

2

Letter

Not much has changed; but the Good News is still the same!

The Almighty sent the Messiah, the King of Peace, to bring freedom and save us,

not from others, but from ourselves!

On behalf of staff and children, a Blessed Christmas anda Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year,

Brother Andrew

Vocational Training

Restoring church doorsIn October, the Roman-Catholic church in Salt gave us an order torestore their 148 year old church doors.

It was an amazing opportunity for theboys in the vocational training towork on such a valuable object. InDecember the finished door willresemble its original beauty as it ishung on its hinges once more.

Occasionally our vocational trainingdepartment gets orders from thedifferent churches in Salt to manu-facture furniture or do restorations.Painting instructor, Issa, prepares the

door together with Hamzeh and ...

... burns the paint away with Mohammed's help. Afterwards, Mohammed (l.,deafblind), Maher and carpentry instructor Ayed (r.) work on it some more.

3

Letter

Drawings and handicrafts for the JubileeAhmed (14) In his drawing, heremembers thejubilee party in April.

Hazem (15,deafblind) madea piece of art for the jubilee.

Hamzeh(15) painted the playgroundwith a hand in the middlesaying: “I love you!”

Shadda (10)drew Br.Andrew andour schoolprincipal

Rehab in the newKnowledge Centre.

Mohammed (10)painted the school'sconstruction overthe last 50 years.

4

Golden Jubilee

Jubilee presentsOn the occasion of our jubilee wereceived several generous gifts.

The Dutch society “Friends of theHLID” donated a cheque for 2,082euros. It is meant for a school trip forthe whole institute. Christoffel Blind Mission (CBM)donated, befitting the jubilee, 50,000euros for the work of the institute.

The presentation of the cheque fromHolland: Bob (President), Yvonne,Rehab and Br. Andrew (f.l.t.r.)

Moatassem(12) drewthe buildingsof the school and theDeafblind Unit.

5

Mohammed (22,deafblind) wrote “50years” in ArabicBraille script andpresented his workto Br. Andrew.

New website and publicationsJust in time for the Golden Jubilee we have created a new website. It is avai-lable in three languages: English, German and Dutch. Please visit us online:

www.holyland-deaf.org

The new Dictionary of Jordanian Sign Language and the Jubilee – Photobook will soon be ready for printing. These books can be ordered from thecontact persons on the back page.

Golden Jubilee

Tawjihi-LeavingTo receive the official Jordanian“Tawjihi” graduation certificate,the students of class 12 must passevery subject, without exception,in the final exams. Unfortunately,last year’s Tawjihi class did notmanage.

On the one hand, the students shouldhave put in more effort but on the other,the authorities were particularly strict in the selection of the questions and thecorrection of the exams. So, the pass-rate in Jordan as a whole (only 30%)

was much lower than in previous years. The students arenow at home, making intensive preparations for re-sittingthe exams in January. Some of the students are workingpart-time as well.

Fadi (left), who last year did not pass one subject in thefinal exams, re-sat the exam this summer and this timehe passed. With his Tawjihi graduation certificate in hispocket, he was accepted into the University of Jordanwhere he now studies sport.

A new student from JofehThe 19-year old Maher is hearing impairedand lives in the Jordan Valley near Jofeh.Thanks to his hearing aid he was able toattend the local government school. However,after 9th grade, he left because he constantlyreceived bad grades. He then worked in ourcentre in Jofeh where he learned, amongother things, how to handle the scroll saw.

He is a very cheerful and intelligent young man, sohe received another chance at the HLID to give hisschooling another try. He attends class and, at thesame time, is being educated in the vocationaltraining units. It has been a while since he was in

school, but he is studying diligently. At the boarding house, Maher hasbecome a very pleasant and helpful member of our school family.

6

School, children and students

Children from a Syrian refugee familySince the beginning of this schoolyear, we have three Deaf childrenfrom a Syrian refugee family.

Mohammed is seven years old,Mahmoud and Shahed are four-year-old twins. Because their parents arealso Deaf, they grew up with signlanguage. While fleeing, the childrenexperienced many disturbing things.They are quite wild and do not seem tobe used to regular conditions. However,slowly but surely, they are learning howto fit into the school routine. Among others, Ghofran and Taima’, two olderDeaf students, look after them with much love and patience.

In October, the city of Salt accepted 13 Christian Iraqi refugee families. Theyare supported by the Social Affairs Department and the local churches. We areglad that we could contribute a little to their well-being.

Deafblind Unit

Performing a play For the graduation party lastsummer, a play was performed byMohammed (22) and Hanady (53),our two adult deafblind residents.

Their teachers Samar (hearing) andIman (Deaf) wrote the script inBraille. Mohammed quicklyunderstood the story, and had his own ideas how he would act out his part of

the play. For Hanady it was a bit moredifficult. She came to our school justtwo years ago at the age of 51 and herknowledge of Braille is not as good asMohammed’s.

Nevertheless, the two worked hard andwere happy to show everyone thatthey were also able to perform a play!

7

F.l.t.r.: Mahmoud, Taima',Mohammed, Ghofran and Shahed

Refugees

Becoming more independentMohammed and Hanady are learning and working far more indepen-dently since this summer. Now they are only instructed by a teacherhalf of the day and for the rest of the day they join the work in thekitchen, the laundry, vocational training, and administration. So theycan, for example, set the tables, fold the laundry, sand wood or workthe file-shredder. Mohammed can also help the other deafblindstudents since he is able to lead them by the hand.

Mohammed has learned to walkacross the street to a store to goshopping by himself.

Wearing a day-glow jacket and withhis white cane, he goes as far as theedge of the street, opposite the store.He waits there until the shopkeepernotices him and then helps him crossthe busy road. After Mohammed hasmade his purchase, the shopkeeperhelps him across the road again andhe proudly makes his way back toschool.

On his way back, a school boyfrom the neighbourhood

spontaneously helps him.

8

Deafblind Unit

Feast of the Sacrifice This Autumn, Al-Adha, the Feast ofthe Sacrifice, was celebrated inJordan. This festival reminds us thatAbraham was willing to sacrifice hisson to prove his obedience andfaithfulness to God. God, however,spared Abraham’s son and a ramwas sacrificed instead.

This feast is celebrated by slaughtering asheep and sharing the meat with thepoor. Family and friends gather to eat and remember God’s faithfulness. In orderfor our deafblind children to better understand what this feast is all about, theyvisited a sheep market just before the Feast of the Sacrifice. It was a great

experience for the children to feel and smell theanimals.

Fitting this theme, and perfect for Christmas, wereceived from Nellie Koegler from Holland threesheep and one camel, which she made from clay.

Little Mohammed learns to walk Mohammed is deafblind and came to us in2012 at the age of six. At home he wasbrought up almost exclusively on milk andtherefore he was quite weak. He was unable towalk - almost no physical activity was possiblefor him - and he was transported in awheelchair or carried around.

Up till today, he can barely eat solid food and hisdiet consists of milkshakes with eggs, sugar, cheese,biscuits etc. added. However, because of this richerdiet and specific physical therapy, Mohammed hasslowly strengthened his muscles and has beenlearning to walk. Using a special walker, made byJoshua in the vocational training, and with the helpof the older Deaf students, he is now able to walk.Mohammed now enjoys exercising and using hislegs. He no longer needs the wheelchair and he ishappy and smiles proudly when he is underway withthe walker.

Hammaam feels the sheep

Deaf student Fatmehhelps Mohammed to

find his way.

9

Deafblind Unit

New inspiration from BostonAsma’ (picture on right) andTamara brought back many newideas from their year in Boston.They have already introducedmany new tools that vastly im-prove the way the teachers helpthe deafblind students develop.

In weekly lessons, they are teaching theother teachers of the Deafblind Unit(picture right) and the Deaf students

(picture below) new learning methods.To develop a better understanding ofdeafblindness, teachers are oftenblindfolded. Asma’ and Tamara introducenew ideas slowly so as not to overwhelmthe teachers as well as the deafblindchildren. Their long term goals are toimprove the children’s communication,to teach them to become moreindependent, and have them acquirevery basic school and social skills.

IntegrationPlaying with other children is not self-evident for a deafblind child.

Many deafblind children are caught in isolation andhave to learn that it is good to open up and bewith other children. To enhance this development,the smaller deafblind children regularly go to thekindergarten in the Deaf school. It is fascinating tosee how natural their interaction is.

R: Mourhaf (l.,deafblind) withMohammed

L: Mohammed(r., deafblind)

with Mahmoud

10

Deafblind Unit

Camp for deafblind people in SwitzerlandFrom the end of September till the beginning of October, Hanady, withTamara as her interpreter, was in Switzerland at a camp for peoplewho are deafblind, organised by the Foundation Deafblind-AidSwitzerland. The Foundation also underwrote the cost for Hanady andTamara’s participation.

Most of the participants had their own interpreters at hand and it wasinteresting to watch the various ways they communicated. Every morning,they shared about their experiences and their faith. After lunch, Tamara andHanady would often go for walks where they would come across cows andtouch fallen leaves. In the afternoon, they went on trips together. One day,they visited the Victorinox Penknife visitor centre. In the evening, theyrelaxed and played games together.

Hanady very much enjoyed her time in Switzerland. She especially enjoyedthe conversation and fellowship with the other participants, as well as meetingNathalie again. She would gladly have stayed even longer.

With friends at Lake SarnenHanady in Thun

Hanady with her interpretersNathalie (l.) and Tamara

Playing Ludo together

11

Deafblind Unit

A workshop for KreimehA few months ago Christoffel BlindMission (CBM Canada) sent ashipping container full ofmaterials.

The instructors and students of thevocational training have put a door anda window in the empty container. Byequipping it with used tools, sawing,sanding, and drilling machines, theycreated a small workshop.

In November the container was transported to the premises of the centre inKreimeh, to be used as a small workshop to start a vocational training

program there like what we havealready in Jofeh. Additionally, theworkshop can be used for maintenanceof the buildings in Kreimeh and Jofeh.

The workers and volunteers (likeMaher, see page 6), who have beentrained in Salt, can now pass on theirlearned skills and, by doing so, helpothers in the same way they werehelped before.

Jordan Valley Centres

Music for the DeafblindIssa and Mariam, two of ourchildren in the Deafblind Unit, arenot deaf, but are blind, aphasicand unable to speak.

Thanks to years of trying differentways of teaching it became clear thatthey respond best to a combination ofspoken language and tactile Signlanguage. Also Hazem and littleMohammed, both hard of hearing,and Hammaam, who has a cochlear implant, can hear a little. Interestinglyenough, most of them love music. Because of this Tamara and some otherteachers play music with the children and dance with them as well.

Tamara plays the flute for Mariam

12

Deafblind Unit

Passing on knowledgeSamir, together with the Outreachteam, gave several courses in theZa’atari refugee camp and in ourcentres in Jofeh and Kreimeh.

These were courses about childprotection, held for parents of childrenwith a disability and our staff and thevolunteers who help there. Thecourses were co-developed andfinanced by the Christoffel BlindMission (CBM). Samir was also asked to give advanced training courses for teachers for theDeaf in Iraq and Kurdistan. Unfortunately, these courses have so far not beenrealized. Since it is relatively quiet in the North and South of Iraq, the reasonfor this is not the political situation, but a lack of financial means.

Outreach

A loyal team is getting supportFor several months there was no more moneyfor our work with children and adults withdisabilities in the Za’atari camp for Syrianrefugees.

Though the team knew about it and one employeehad to leave, they loyally continued their work.

Now we arerelieved and thankful that the GermanChurches and the Said FoundationEngland are willing to support thiswork for another year. Since October Femmy, a volunteerfrom Holland, is part of the team forthe next six months. She is a physio-therapist and with her expertise shewill help many people in the refugeecamp, as well as in our centres inJofeh and Kreimeh. She also workswith several of our Deaf and deafblindchildren in Salt. She is very muchinvolved in instructing volunteers andteachers in Salt and in the camps.

Samir teaches at Za’atari refugee camp

Part of the Outreach Team, f.l.t.r.: a Syrian volunteer, Eymad (driver),Bothaina (teacher for Deaf children),

Femmy and Ibrahim (Audiologistfrom HLID)

13

(Salt Training and Resource Institute for Disability, Etc.)S.T.R.I.D.E.

New volunteers and Arabic studiesDavid (MCC, USA), Tabea (Switzerland) and Michael (EMS, Germany) arethree new volunteers. David takes care of deafblind Hazem. In the morning,Tabea helps Rafael in the sponsorship office and Michael designs a websitefor the church building project at the Jordan River. In the afternoon they bothare with the children on the playgroundand in the evening they help supervise thechildren in the boarding houses.

This school year Joel is studying Arabic.From Monday till Thursday he has lessonsin Amman and the rest of the time hedoes homework and helps out in thevocational training. The craft lessons arestill very enjoyable for him as well as forthe boys of the 4th grade.

The Fischer Family and the nursery The Fischer Family has been living in Jordan since April. Jonas, the oldestson, is brought to school in Amman every day by one of his parents. Addition-ally, in the evening, his father teaches him German. Jörg does planning workfor the vocational training. Suzanne works in the nursery together with ourJordanian employees Ayda, Niveen and Adawiyeh (picture). Three times per

week, deafblind Hanady helps them as well. Both theyounger children Thilo and Viola accompany theirmother, Suzanne, to the nursery.

The nursery has recently changed its location.Vocational training students prepared the rooms,garden and play area, and the women furnished it.

Heart problems and change of staffFadwa (photo), Head of housekeeping, had to have a heartpacemaker operation in October. After a few days, she wasable to go home and now she is recovering well.

At the beginning of the scholastic year there are alwaysmajor changes in the staff. Several teachers for the Deaf anddeafblind left us and therefore we recently welcomed Riham,Wijdan, Marwa, Nisreen and Ala as teachers. We alsowelcomed Mais, Ibrahim and Mohammed to the audiologydepartment’s staff.

14

Staff and volunteers

Much appreciated visitorsDick and Rob from Holland came just before thesummer holidays to work on the computer network.Joel's uncle Christian (right picture) and aunt Martawere with us for two weeks. Christian surprised thechildren with a clown performance and Marta made

juggling balls with them outof balloons and sand. In October Gerhard (leftpicture) gave baking lessons to the older girls and thetwo deafblind adults Mohammed and Hanady. Hevisited our Outreach centres so he can report about itback home in Switzerland. In the same month,Yvonne, whom we got to know in our last newsletter,actively helped out in the office. In November Ria

took over from her. They are both boardmembers of the Dutch society “Friends ofthe HLID.” In October a group ofemployees from our partner institutePaulinenpflege in Winnenden (Germany)visited us. They spent one day in Saltand, two days later, visited our JofehCentre (right picture).

A family traditionTamara's mother Monika and her grandmotherAlice visited us in November. Monika's brotherGerhard helped in the school more than 36 yearsago. Since then there is a strong connectionbetween the whole family and the HLID.For many years, Alice has prayed faithfully for us.Monika is our much appreciated Sponsorship secretary and her husband Karlsupports us generously. Gerhard and his wife Ruth organise group tours toJordan and Ruth is also the President of the Swiss society “Friends of the HLID.”In the third generation, Tamara supports the HLID by looking thoughtfully afterthe deafblind children with much love and care. Also their cousins Damaris andZippora help actively as treasurer and by maintaining the website, respectively.

We are most grateful to God as we are experiencing once again in this difficultfinancial situation that “Allah Kariem” – God provides. Also thanks to Tamara'sfamily, Gerhard, Yvonne, Ria and the other representatives of the associations,organisations like Paulinenpflege, Christoffel Blind Mission (CBM), DiakonieGermany, and the Said Foundation as well as all our supporters throughout the

world. Their work, prayers and contribution are much appreciated.

15

Staff and volunteers

16

Mohammed, the marathon runnerMohammed Salameh, one of our olderstudents, participated in the “Rum In-ternational Marathon” on September 26.The marathon took place in Wadi Rum - thedesert of southern Jordan. Mohammedfinished as the runner-up! He only took 5hours and 7 minutes to run the 42 km racecourse, which was particularly tough because itpartly led throughdesert sand. Nor-mally, he does nottake more thanthree hours forsuch a distance.Mohammed, whois also artisticallygifted, originallycomes from a no-

mad family in WadiMousa (near Petra). The family now lives in Sweileh,a suburb of Amman. His daily training routineconsists in jogging or riding his bicycle between hishome and school, a total distance of 15 km one way!

Contact in the United Kingdom:FFrriieennddss ooff tthhee HHoollyy LLaanndd IInnssttiittuutteeffoorr tthhee DDeeaaff (Formerly Allah Kariem-UK)

Chairman/sponsorships: Mr Jonathan Allen, May Cottage,Church Lane, Upper Dean, Huntingdon,Cambridgeshire, PE28 0NB, UKtel.: +44 (0)1234 708 008 e-mail: jonathangallen@me.comBank Account: No 00092614 Friends ofthe Holy Land Institute for the DeafDeposit Account, CAF Bank Ltd, 25 Kings Hill Av., Kings Hill, West Malling,Kent ME19 4JQ, Sort Code 405240

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

Contact and donation collectorin the USA:

American Friends of the EpiscopalDiocese of Jerusalem25 Old King's Highway No., Suite 13,Darien, CT 06820, USA www.afedj.org Contact person: Anne Lynn tel.: 203-655-3575e-mail: aklynn@afedj.orgDonations: Please mail a check to theaddress above, donate online or contactAnne Lynn.

School, children and students