A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Meeting the Special Needs of Palestinian Children Helping Palestinians In Need
A special parliamentary event hosted by Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP and Interpal, with presentations from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) and Medical Aid for Palestinians. Speakers
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP
Ibrahim Hewitt Chairman of Interpal
Chris Gunness Director of Advocacy and Strategic Communications, UNRWA
Tony Laurance Chief Executive at Medical Aid for Palestinians
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CONTENTS Introduction 4 Interpal’s Vision 7 Access to a Quality Education 9 The Vision Project
12
Increasing mobility and reducing dependence
14
Recreation and Psychological support
17
Quality of Life and Access to Healthcare
20
Case Study: Supporting disabled children in Lebanon
23
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A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Meeting the special needs of Palestinian children Interpal marked its 20th anniversary in 2014 by committing $500,000 towards UNRWA’s ‘Vision Project’. This commitment to fund such innovative and necessary support for the special needs of Palestinian children is part of Interpal’s overall aims and strategy to ensure the most vulnerable in Palestinian society are not further marginalised and disadvantaged.
F
OR Palestinian children, having
For aid agencies, the need is vast and
physical or mental disabilities
effective responses are often made
brings vast and multi-dimensional
difficult by the situation on the ground.
consequences to an already precarious
Interpal began supporting children
and difficult situation. An environment
with disabilities through its Sponsorship
which is unequipped in dealing with these
Programme and soon came to realise
challenges leads to isolation, insecurity
how their specific needs were being left
and victimisation.
unaddressed.
Whilst many Palestinians living in the
Over the last twenty years Interpal has
occupied Palestinian territories or refugee
continued to implement projects across
camps of Lebanon and Jordan are left
its areas of operation, and utilised the
disadvantaged, children with physical
expertise of partners in order to benefit
difficulties or developmental issues are
children with special needs and address
particularly vulnerable due to barriers in
gaps in care.
movement, education, healthcare and
From helping to enhance socialisation
security.
and communication skills to improving
It is often the case that families and
mobility and access to education, Interpal
communities lack the necessary
continues to expand its programmes by
understanding in providing appropriate
listening to its beneficiaries on the ground
support to children with special needs.
and improving its understanding of the
In addition, inadequate social services are
unique lived experiences of children with
unable to meet the full spectrum of their
disabilities.
needs and conditions.
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INTERPAL’S VISION Our vision is to ensure that children with learning and social differences can envisage a positive future for themselves and their vulnerabilities, and that obstacles can be removed so that their quality of life is one which all children deserve.
Interpal’s response As a charity that has worked on the ground for over twenty years, we have developed a deep insight into the nuanced needs of vulnerable families that could otherwise be overlooked by those unaware of what Palestinians live through. Beyond our general provision of aid, we implement unique programmes and projects that address a range of underfunded needs and gaps in services available.
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33%
In occupied Palestine,
...and more than
more than one
one-fifth of disabled
third of people with
20%
individuals dropped
disabilities aged 15
out of school due to
years and over, have
environmental and
never enrolled at
physical obstacles.
school...
ACCESS TO A QUALITY EDUCATION Interpal’s Education Aid Programmes work to ensure Palestinian children and youth can access and benefit from an education. This has included being aware of the particular challenges facing children with disabilities and special needs through a variety of programmes and projects, including:
Education Support for Children with Cochlear Implants
supported through learning in a meaningful way and improved their educational attainment. It meant that the children could join mainstream schooling, and were not held back by inadequate support services or being
In Gaza, we helped over 100 children
taught at inappropriate levels.
with hearing impairments catch up
Whilst cochlear implants helped
with their peers and not be left behind
children to hear, the implants required
in their studies.The programme
basic maintenance of which parents
devised a special curriculum for
were unaware, and the project also
these children to ensure they were
addressed this directly.
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It also provided family therapy to educate parents on how to support their children. The children benefitted,
Supporting special needs schools
not only through the improvement of their educational attainment, but also by increasing the effectiveness of their cochlear implants and the training of their families on how best to help them. The beneficiaries and staff involved worked to remove poverty and disability as barriers to a quality education and the project was an important step to social inclusion and greater confidence.
The Nour el Marifa school, which is the only school of its kind in Gaza, provides specialist educational services for children with speech and learning differences. Interpal has supported the children since it was established, and has worked with it to provide school kits for students, repair classrooms and also to build a special ‘Speech Therapy Clinic’ to address the speech and audial impairments in children which often negatively impact on children’s attainment and confidence. The school helps approximately 1,000 students a year through its various activities.
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THE VISION PROJECT Launching in 2016, the Vision Project is an exciting and innovative project implemented by UNRWA which improves access to education and future opportunities for blind and visually impaired children in Gaza. Interpal’s trustees pledged to support the project with $500,000 after hearing of the pilot project featuring eight year old Muhammad in Gaza, who was blinded when an Israeli shell hit his home, and then orphaned when a shell hit a mosque in which his father was praying in 2014. The project came about when Christopher Gunness, UNRWA Director of Advocacy and Strategic Communications, tweeted Mohammad’s story with someone immediately tweeting in response that the technology that could give Mohammad back his future was called “Voice Dream Reader”. This technology allows anything digitally imported onto a mobile device to be read to the blind and visually impaired; and has been described as the “next generation of braille”. Inventor and CEO of Voice Dream Reader, Winston Chen, then generously offered to make this technology available to Mohammad, as well as all children suffering with visual impairments in Gaza.
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The Vision Project is the perfect example of using technology to benefit the marginalised and make a difference to the lives of children. It will supplement braille and other teaching techniques used for children with visual impairments and enrich teaching and learning. Up to 30 teachers will be trained to teach 217 blind and visually impaired children how to use the technology and how to allow them to study the same curriculum as their sighted peers. After implementation in Gaza, the project will be rolled out to other regions benefitting more visually impaired children and improving the special needs education available to them. The improvement in the lives of these children is immeasurable.
“The Vision Project helps to give visually impaired children a possibility of a dignified and educated future”.
The project will remove their disability being a barrier to their education, and aspirations and allow them to dream bigger whilst also benefitting their families and the community in the long term. Beyond the Vision Project, Interpal has also provided $55,000 to support the installation of solar panels at UNRWA’s ‘Rehabilitation Centre for the Visually Impaired’ (RCVI).
Chris Gunness, UNRWA
The RCVI is the first of its kind in Gaza, serving over 1,250 children and the solar
Each child will receive a mobile device at school and have all the books available to them, just as their sighted peers have.
panels will help ensure that the frequent blackouts don’t negatively impact the important work being carried out.
This not only opens up vast sources of information, learning and creativity but also supplements their basic education, and provides them with tools that will prepare them for adulthood, including employment and full integration into society.
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INCREASING MOBILITY AND REDUCING DEPENDENCE Lack of mobility is the most prevalent constraint among 48% of disabled individuals in Palestine. Three out of four people with disabilities in occupied Palestine, who are 18 years old and above, say they do not use public transportation due to the lack of necessary adaptation in the infrastructure. Interpal’s community development and medical aid projects have often focused on ensuring that people with disabilities are not excluded or further marginalised due to a lack of mobility. Interpal’s field offices have continued to work with beneficiaries to improve their access to society and listen to their wishes to be less dependent on family and friends.
The Disabled Outreach Bus project
The drivers are trained to be supportive and
For over three years, Interpal has been running
benefits for the community. The feedback
the Disabled Outreach Bus project, which
from beneficiaries and their families has been
currently supports over 250 individuals in Gaza.
overwhelmingly positive, and for the parents
The project came about when Interpal’s field
using the buses to send their children to
office realised that many beneficiaries of other
appointments or school, it is a service they can
projects, such as education aid or medical aid,
trust and feel reassured by. Our buses were also
were unable to benefit because they simply
utilised by hospitals during the 2014 assault for
could not reach their classes or appointments
non-emergency errands. We recently included
regularly.
74 students as beneficiaries with impaired
Our Gaza Field Office then sought to buy and refurbish buses that were accessible and appropriate and what started off as a service
sensitive, and are also part of our Job Creation Programme, so the project has multi-dimensional
hearing to ensure they reached their classes; and started supporting a special sports club to ensure disabled athletes reached their training sessions.
with two vehicles, now utilises ten vehicles and dedicated drivers. Individuals are able to provide their schedules to the field office and can then be transported to their destinations without being reliant on expensive taxis or struggling through any inconvenience or indignity.
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Providing wheelchairs and other assistive devices High rates of poverty have often meant that those with disabilities have been forced to cope without the help of wheelchairs, or other devices. This not only limits their ability to move around, but also their ability to think beyond their disabilities and achieve their full potential. Interpal firmly believes that accessibility, and support for disabilities, is essential to remove stigma and allow those with disabilities a more level playing field in society. Interpal has long provided assisted devices, across all our areas of operation, to children with disabilities. These devices include wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids as well as supporting physiotherapy clinics and hospitals working to improve mobility and mitigate the impact of certain disabilities.
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RECREATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT Not only is a mere 2.5% of the Ministry of Health’s budget devoted to mental health but there are a tiny number of properly qualified psychiatrists to serve 2.5 million in the West Bank, 1.8 million in Gaza and up to 400,000 Palestinians in the refugee camps in Lebanon. Palestinian children in all our areas of
Trauma Centre, which began working in Gaza
operation are growing up in unimaginably
in 2009 with the aim of providing psycho-
difficult and challenging environments. For
social therapy to children in desperate need
those with disabilities, the lack of adequate
of support. The Centre trains staff to help not
support and the psychological impact of
only the children but also their families and is
their refugee status, or the occupation itself,
an invaluable service contributing to improving
are exacerbated by their special needs and
long term mental health in a community under
disabilities.
siege. The Centre’s ‘Friday of Joy’ fun days are
Interpal’s programmes aim to support children
an important form of outreach, giving children
psychologically and also allow them to feel like other children by promoting fun and recreation.
a fun outlet whilst family therapy programmes work holistically with the whole family to improve lives. The Centre’s interventions have aided over
Palestine Trauma Centre
100,000 children over the last seven years and
Palestinian children over the age of eight
chronic and ongoing trauma in the lives and
in Gaza have now experienced three mass
potential of Gaza’s children.
reduced the long term negative impact of
bombardments. Last summer’s assault on Gaza, left 551 children dead, injured a further 3,374 and left hundreds of thousands of children traumatised. These children continue to require specialist support to ensure they can overcome trauma and the behavioural issues related to it. However, the sheer scale of need, and inadequate services, leave people struggling with mental health issues. For this reason, Interpal supports the Palestine
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Improving mental health Recreational events services in the West for children Interpal has noted that for many of its Bank beneficiaries with special needs, their carers The ongoing occupation and daily
psychological struggles of children are often overlooked in the West Bank, with a focus on their physical security. However, mental health services have been unable to cater to the needs of more and more children suffering from psychological issues and this is limiting an entire generation of Palestinians. Interpal has worked with a specialist partner organisation to improve child psychiatry in the West Bank, as well as supporting a five year plan to improve mental health services for children and young adults. The programme aims to support the training of mental health professionals, improve best practice in the sector and filter knowledge to other services and professionals working with children.
were struggling to provide beyond their basic needs. This often meant that many children were excluded from society and did not get the chance to interact with their peers. To address this gap in care, Interpal now provides regular events and parties for children with special needs to allow them and their carers a day of fun, provide toys or financial aid and ensure its beneficiaries feel connected to each other and the charity. Children with disabilities and special needs are often excluded from recreational activities due to a lack of adequate facilities or because their carers are unable to cope with providing more than basic needs due to poverty and safety concerns. Interpal has supported over 300 children a year through these events and received very positive feedback from children and parents.
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QUALITY OF LIFE AND ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE Due to ongoing conflict and physical assaults on Palestinians, the number of people with a physical disability is increasing.This puts pressure on an already struggling health sector, and causes greater impoverishment and limited opportunities in life for children, as their families navigate poverty and their disability.
Financial lifelines via the Sponsorship Programme Every year, our Sponsorship Programme supports thousands of vulnerable children across the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as the refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Interpal has also ensured that the programme includes beneficiaries with special needs, and that its field offices are supporting them as they require. Interpal provides ongoing financial and medical support to children, to support their basic needs and also ease the burden on families struggling to cope.
Our financial assistance goes towards medication and the basic necessities to improve their quality of life, but Interpal has also provided other forms of support such as micro-finance grants for families, shelter support and assistive devices.
Supporting access to medical care and medical facilities Special needs health care is vital to ensure children are living healthy lives, and are not endangered by their special needs. Interpal’s Medical Aid Programmes support a variety of interventions, and many of these have been focused on special needs care and facilities.
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Interpal has funded equipment for the Al
Interpal has continued to support specialist
Shifa and Naser hospitals in Gaza as part
treatment for rare conditions in children and
of the Essential Skin Grafting Equipment
reacts to immediate needs as they arise.
for the Burns Service in Gaza project.
The siege in Gaza and the poverty faced by
This specialist equipment allows surgeons
many across Interpal’s areas of operation
to treat children with severe burns, at a greater speed, lessening their pain and
has meant that many types of expensive medical treatments would be impossible for
yielding more usable skin for grafting
our beneficiaries without support.
wider areas. Interpal has also supported
Interpal has subsidised medical fees for
the El Wafa hospital, which specialises in
children suffering from cancer, rare genetic
supporting people with disabilities and
diseases and emergency requirements.
neurological conditions through immediate
Supporting these special needs has ensured
and long term care. Interpal has also
that Palestinian children’s lives are not put
supported occupational therapy in Gaza,
at risk due to their poverty and inability to
through the training of staff benefiting over
leave Palestine or Lebanon for treatment.
1,000 people requiring treatment, as well
Interpal’s support for these children has
as improving occupational therapy best
improved their quality of life and also saved
practice.
lives, whilst also supporting a struggling medical sector.
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CASE STUDY
SUPPORTING DISABLED CHILDREN IN LEBANON Rawan is a six-year old disabled girl who
Rawan spends most of her spare time
lives in Burj El-Barajneh refugee camp
playing with her sister Rana, who is also
in Lebanon. Rawan was born with a
her best friend.
congenital deformity: she suffers from
Rawan is extremely brave as she rarely
leg length discrepancy and deviation backbone.
complains about the pain. Last year, Rawan received surgery. As the medical
Rawan has already had several operations
devices were too expensive for the family
and requires a medical device in her leg
to pay, Interpal’s ‘Social Welfare Fund’
to enable her to walk. She also needs to
helped to cover part of Rawan’s treatment.
wear another device to treat her deviation
Rawan also received a doll to play with
backbone.
which filled her with joy and she expressed
Rawan is a very hardworking grade one
how grateful she was by starting to colour
student at the UNRWA Tulkarem School
the Interpal logo. When she grows up,
where she particularly loves drawing and
Rawan will need to obtain new devices.
reading. It is difficult for Rawan to make
At Interpal we will make sure we are here
friends as she can’t walk, run or play. She
to support her and her family every step of
feels different from the other children.
the way.
She would like to be able to run in the school playground and race with her classmates. Her mother brings her to school every day and also carries her to the hospital.
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