Princess Basma Centre for Children with disabilities

Serving our Communities since 1965 Newsletter 2nd Quarter, 2016

A Message from the Chairman

Princess Basma Centre is one of the leading centers known for her enormous support to many develop- in Palestine and especially in area for the ment programs and charity organizations in Jordan, provision of services for children with special and also to our educational institutions in Jordan. needs. The Centre provides advanced therapy Every year Her Royal Highness participates at the programs and mainstream education for children graduation ceremonies of our schools in Jordan, with special needs. were she provides inspiration to the newly graduat- ed students. The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, is responsible for more than thirty organizations in the Middle East that provide services in the fields of education, Chairman of the Princess Basma Centre healthcare, and vocational training. Archbishop Suheil Dawani The Princess Basma Centre is one of the top priority institutions that receive support from the Diocese in order to develop and upgrade the services of this In this issue institution.

We are thankful for the clear vision and commit- ment of the General Director, and his senior staff, in leading transformation to provide better services  A Message from the Chairman and respond to the new and evolving needs of chil-  Inclusive School Graduation dren with disabilities.  The Opening of the Kindergarten

The Princess Basma Centre is an active member of  Success Story “ Where there is a will, there is the East Jerusalem Hospitals’ Network (EJHN). way” This network is very active in developing and im-  Support us proving healthcare services for Palestinians from all  Activities over the , Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.  EU/Diakonia Project  PBC shares its experience on Autism I would also like to highlight the continuous support  A meeting with a High Delegation from Malta and care of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan, for the Centre. Her Highness is The Princess Basma Inclusive School celebrated

the graduation of the 7th high school batch

In the picture, Archbishop Suheil Dawani together with Dean , General Director Mr. Ibrahim Faltas, School Principal Mr. Waseem Ali and the school teachers & the students during the graduation ceremony.

Under the patronage of His Grace Archbishop Suheil Dawani, the Princess Basma Inclusive High School celebrated the graduation of its high school students for the 7th consecutive on May 17, 2016.

Twenty eight students graduated this academic year, nine of them are students with disabilities. Almost all of the students are encouraged to start applying for universities to continue their higher education.

Knowing that for the academic year 2015-2016, 550 children were enrolled at the Princess Basma Inclusive School, 162 of them are children with disabilities. The Jerusalem Princess Basma Center celebrates the opening of the newly renovated Princess Basma Kindergarten

Under the patronage of His Beatitude the Archbishop Suheil Dawani, and the Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Mr. Adnan Al-Husseini, the General Manager Administration of Islamic Affairs and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Azzam Al Khatib and a Representative from the Jordanian Embassy the Jerusalem Princess Basma Center celebrated the opening of the newly renovated Princess Basma Kindergarten on March 16, 2016.

The renovation was generously funded by the Government of Italy and implemented by the UNDP Archbishop Suheil Dawani together with Mr. Adnan Husseini, the Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem & Sheikh Azzam Al Khatib, General and in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Manager Administration of Islamic Affairs and Al-Aqsa Mosque during the opening celebration Local Government. This project came at an important point in the development of the Inclusive School; one of the few in the Middle East region that provides education for both children with and without The Inclusive School was established in 1987 out of disabilities in the mainstreaming classrooms. the belief that children with disabilities have equal rights to have access to quality education and out of Chairman of the Board, His Beatitude the Archbishop the great need in the Jerusalem area. The school is Suheil Dawani said: “On our Golden Jubilee, managed by the Princess Basma Institution and has celebrating 50 years of working with and serving become a role model in inclusive education. The children with disabilities, we are proud to continue school serves children with various kinds of providing children with disabilities rehabilitation disabilities including physical disabilities, hearing services, and education.” impairments and children with Autism, ADHD and learning difficulties.

This year 550 students out of which 30% are children with disabilities study at the Princess Basma Inclusive School. What makes the work of the school special is that beside education, children with disabilities receive a comprehensive rehabilitation package and psychosocial support from the Princess Basma Institution. WHEN THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY

Yousef Azzem, three years old, a child born to a family liv- ing in Sabastia village near Nablus, West Bank.

Yousef’s mother Futoun was pregnant with a triplet, two girls and a boy. At the time, she was finishing her B.A de- gree. Futoun had many difficulties during her pregnancy such as high blood pressure and extreme fatigue.

On her early 8th month of pregnancy she had to undergo a caesarian surgery to deliver the babies after facing a lot of complications.

At the beginning, all the babies seemed healthy and the mother took them back home, both the girls were nurturing Yousef was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and Dr. Waddah and growing well, yet Yousef had troubles feeding or com- referred him to PBC. Yousef had lots of impairments and municating with his surroundings. difficulties such as sensory problems, poor head and trunk Futoun thought it’s only a regular problem since it was her control, poor sitting balance, and he wasn’t able to use any first pregnancy and had no experience in upbringing chil- social signs or facial expressions. dren. Finally at the age of one and a half, Yousef was admitted at As the time passed the girls started crawling and using the PBC, and immediately received a comprehensive rehabil- sounds to express their feelings, while Yousef did not react itation program that consisted of Physiotherapy, hydrothera- with any person and was always silent and kept looking up. py, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy.

Futoun started to worry, and expressed her concerns to her Futoun said: “I felt at home at PBC, the therapists answered husband who at first refused to believe that Yousef is facing all my questions without any delays, giving me the right any problems, yet Futoun insisted to pay a visit to a doctor in tools to deal with Yousef”. her village. After the fifth admission, Yousef has shown a lot of im- The doctor at the village after the diagnosis brought up the provement in auditory perception, visual and tactile. Yousef shocking news, telling the mother that the child will never can now walk indoors using the walkers with a very good walk or talk or even communicate with his surroundings, and control and balance. He also can express himself by smiling advised her to take him home with no treatment to offer. and using all kinds of facial expressions.

The news was too hurtful to accept and the father couldn’t Ms. Lucy Ghraybe, one of the physiotherapists at the Centre handle it, while Futoun insisted to find a treatment to Yousef, said: “when Yousef was admitted to the Centre, he was moving from one doctor to the other. After visiting more afraid of therapists and physicians due to the many visits to than 20 doctors, who gave her no real hope for any develop- clinics before. It took time to gain his trust with team work ment or treatment for Yousef’s case, Futoun finally heard of the therapists, Yousef started to open to his surroundings, about Farah Clinic that works in partnership with Princess and started to show good progress”. Basma Centre (PBC). Futoun reached the clinic and sched- Yousef is now 3 years old. He will continue to receive thera- uled a meeting with Dr. Waddah Malhees, the Medical Di- pies at the Centre in order to achieve a level of independence rector at the PBC, who and together with the multi- and improvement in his quality of life. disciplinary team visits on a regular basis the partner clinics and diagnose many cases.

Donate Now—Support our Mission

Kindly make your donations through one of the following payable to The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre

Bank in Jerusalem Account name: The Jerusalem Princess Basms Centre Bank name: Mercantile-Dscount Bank Ltd. Address: Salah Eddin Streen-East Jerusalem Bank #: (17) – Branch # (638) USD Account #: 402052 Swift Code: BARDILIT

Tax deductible donations:

The American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem Address: 25 Old King’s Highway No., Suite 13, Darien, CT 06820, USA Tel: 2013-655-3575 Contact person: Ms. Ann Lynn, Email: [email protected] Website: www.afedj.org Our EIN is under the name of “American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem” # 59-6155008

FOR UK DONORS Name: HSBC, Notting Hill Branch Account name: JustAct Middle East Account number: 81512757 Sort Code:40-05-08

Recreational activities for the children with disabilities admitted at the rehabilitation center

Activities at the Princess Basma Kindergarten The Graduation of the children at the Kindergarten Princess Basma Centre continues for the 2nd Year with the project:

“People with Disabilities in East Jerusalem Enjoy Improved Living Conditions”

This project is funded by the EU/Diakonia and is im- plemented in partnership with Society of Saint Yves. The objectives of this project is to promote the rights and entitlements of adults and children with disabilities from Each Jerusalem, and the provision of rehabilitation and education services to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder “ASD” and Atten- tion Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder “ADHD”.

During the second year of this project our team of experts have continued with workshops to raise awareness and build capacities on ADHD and ASD through its reach-out program to a number of schools and healthcare providers in East Jerusalem.

The workshops targeted practitioners, therapists, teachers and parents of children with ASD and ADHD; where the Princess Basma team shared best practices in the two fields.

Complimentary to this, PBC continues to provide child development services to children with ADHD & ASD from the Jeusalem area as part of this project. PBC shares its experience on Autism at Al-Najah University

On 7 April 2016, the Princess Basma Center participated at a conference organized by Al-Najah Child Institute (part of Al-Najah University) under the title: “Autism Spectrum Disorder, Evidence Based Practices in Pales- tine”. The conference aimed at raising awareness among practitioners and experts in the field on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

The organizers of the conference invited the Princess Basma Center (PBC) to share their expertise in Autism and services provided by the Autism Unit.

PBC started its Autism service since 2011 and which includes rehabilitation treatment as well as education for children with ASD. The Center provides rehabilitation services to an average of 45 children with Autism from the West Bank every year and a full rehabilitation and education combined service all year long to 16 children with ASD from the Jerusalem area.

The audience was interested in the milestones achieved by the Autism Unit; especially the mainstreaming of four children with ASD in mainstream classes in the Inclusive School run by PBC. Special attention was given to the multi-disciplinary approach that PBC applies in its work and the inclusion of the family in the treatment process.

The organizers of the conference also acknowledged PBC’s achievement in acquiring the accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI).

The participating team consisted of the Rehabilitation Program Director, Ms Randa Alami, the Medical Director, Dr. Waddah Malhees, and Ms. Iman Ghosheh, the Clinical Coordinator and Autism Unit facilitator at the Princess Basma Center.

A meeting with a high profile delegation from the Day of Autism on 2 April 2016. On his part and on the Republic of Malta Day of Autism, The Honourable Mr. Angelo Farrugia, highlighted during his speech at the Parliament the efforts of the Princess Basma Centre on Autism and delivered a gift to the wife of the Prime Minister Of Malta Mr. Joseph Muscat. The gift was crafted by people with disabilities at the Sheltered Workshop operated by the Princess Basma Centre.

The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre, represented by the General Director Mr. Ibrahim Faltas, and The Honourable Angelo Farrugia, Speaker of the House of Representatives - Parliament of Malta, and Mr. Reuben Gauci - Representative of the Republic of Malta, met at the Malta Representative Office in on 30 March 2016 to discuss cooperation on the issue of Autism. The Honourable Mr. Angelo Farrugia, delivered a gift received from the sheltered workshop to the wife of the Prime Minister Of Malta Mr. Joseph Muscat.

The Honourable Angelo Farrugia, accompanied with his wife Carmela Farrugia, headed a high profile delegation including members of parliament: The Honourable Support Mother / Child Care Michael Falzon and The Honourable Silvio Parnis During the admission of each child to the rehabilita- together with Mr. Ancel Farrugia Migneco - PA to the tion department, for around 2-3 weeks, the Centre Speaker. also opens its dormitory to the mothers to stay with the child during the admission period. The meeting focused on joint cooperation on the issue of Autism. During the meeting Mr. Faltas shared with the The mother receives awareness sessions and special delegation the history of the Princess Basma Centre in homework's to support the child back home, and Jerusalem, and services provided for Palestinian attends each therapy session. children. He also thanked Mr. Reuben Gauci for his keen We believe the presence of the mother is essential for interest to support the work of the Princess Basma Centre the progress of each child. on Autism. Support us by donating for Mr. Angelo Farrugia highlighted the importance of the each mother 1500$ issue of Autism for the Parliament and Government of Malta and the activities to take place in Malta for the

For More Information about the Centre please visit: Website: www.basma-centre.org Email us: [email protected]

Princess Basma Centre for Children with Disabilities