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Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center – Moravian Church December 2016 A Year in Review QUARTER 4, 2016 21.12.2016 Vocational Training Program INTRODUCTION This is the first newsletter for Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center -Moravian Church, which It provides rehabilitation, training and employment will be issued on a quarterly basis starting in 2017 with the aim of connecting to our friends, brothers and sisters, everywhere. This issue is an exception, since it provides a year’s review of opportunities to 41 persons with intellectual disability from the 2016 as a whole. age of 14 years until 40 years old. They are trained on different vocational skills including agricultural work, olive soap and candle production, paper-recycling, assembly of electric Brief Background… outlets, embroidery stitches, sewing and housekeeping. Star Mountain (SMRC) is an institution of the Worldwide Moravian Church working in Palestine. It contributes in securing a life in dignity for persons with intellectual disability, Connecting trainees to companies and workshops in the through the provision of rehabilitation and training, integration and inclusion, awareness community is a main end goal. building and community mobilization, on the basis of love, dignity, justice and equality. 10.12.2016 SMRC is located in a village called Abu Qash, in Ramallah and Al-Bireh District, West Bank, Palestine, 25 km to the north of Jerusalem. SMRC trains and rehabilitates around 192 persons with intellectual disability of all ages inside and outside the center. Thirty-five qualified staff members work with great commitment and pride in this special mission. Here is a short description of each of our four rehabilitation programs: The Inclusive Kindergarten It provides rehabilitation and educational programs to children with intellectual disability from the age of 3 months until 6 years old for children who have disability, and until 4 years old for Community Work Program children without disability. It adopts the concept of inclusion, which means children with and without disabilities can join the Kindergarten. It aims at developing children’s self-confidence, This program is based on the concept of Community Based self-care, cognitive, physical, logical and language skills. The KG’s current capacity is 18 Inclusive Development. It works on several levels: with the children. individual person with intellectual disability, with the family, with the community and with higher level policy makers. We reach out to 103 persons with intellectual disability in 11 villages and one refugee camp. Work focusses on mobilizing all these levels to defend the rights of persons with disability and influence policy and social change. Special Support Programs Additionally, SMRC provides specialized support programs School Education & Autism Program including physiotherapy, speech therapy, art and physical education, music, drama and psycho-social support/counseling It provides rehabilitation and educational programs to 30 children with intellectual disability and for students and their mothers. autism from the age of 6 until 14. It aims at developing their academic, cognitive, behavioral, language, independence, physical, social, economic, and rehabilitation skills, as well as, general safety and supportive skills (drawing and music) in order to become more independent and self- reliant. STAR MOUNTAIN REHABILITATION CENTER – MORAVIAN CHURCH 2 December 2016 Capacity Building for SMRC Youth and children from Al-Mustaqbal Schools and persons with disability in community activities, aiming Al-Najah Secondary School in Ramallah bought at changing social perceptions. Staff Members these packages and offered them to their mother’s on this special day. SMRC staff members followed a series of courses/workshops during the year including Child Recreational Trip to Wadi Qelt CELEBRATION OF PALM SUNDAY & Safeguarding and Child Protection, Origami, Public EASTER Relations and Portage Guide to Early Intervention SMRC staff members went on a recreational trip to Wadi SMRC has celebrated Palm Sunday and Easter on to increase their capacity in relevant areas of work. Qelt in Jericho on Saturday 19.03.2016. They marched Thursday 28.04.2016 in the presence of Rev. through the valley for more than 5 hours, enjoying the Imad Haddad. The ceremony started with beauty of nature and fresh air. They had lunch in one of carrying palm branches to the forest where Rev. the Bedouin restaurants in that area. Haddad has preached the resurrection tale to SMRC students and staff. It ended with enjoying some sweets and egg hunting in the forest. CBM Assessment Week SMRC welcomed representatives from CBM to assess SMRC’s compliance with Child Protection Elim Home Visit to SMRC and Child Safeguarding policies from 07- 10.03.2016. CBM representatives met the Following the visit of the Management Team of Management Team, some administrative and SMRC to Elim Home in South Africa in 2015, the technical staff, program coordinators, Director of Elim Home Mrs. Lesinda Cunningham rehabilitation workers, children and family and her husband Rev. Godfrey Cunningham the members, governmental and non-governmental Chairman of Elim City Hall in South Africa have organizations. The aim was to manifest and visited SMRC in March 2016 to learn about its develop a child-safe environment at the Center, but programs and activities and find ways of also to try to create a local child protection cooperation between the two parties. networking mechanism of referrals in Palestine. Nuwwar Nissan's Child Festival SMRC participated in Nuwwar Nissan's Child Festival Mother’s Day 2016 under the slogan “I and the Sea” on Thursday 31.03.2016. The Festival involved a number of sections The Vocational Training Program prepared including: storytelling, painting, boat making, fun packages of products made by persons with activities and face painting. The festival is annually intellectual disability to be offered as presents on organized by Ramallah Municipality. SMRC’s Mother’s Day Monday 21.03.2016. These products participation manifests the concept of inclusion of consisted of pure mountain honey, olive soap, candles, and Palestinian embroidery stitches. Ramallah, POB 199, West Bank, Palestine-Office: 00972-(0)2-296 27 05 – 06 Fax 02–296 27 15 - Email: [email protected] STAR MOUNTAIN REHABILITATION CENTER – MORAVIAN CHURCH 3 December 2016 Agricultural Activities on Land Day SMRC students carried out a number of agricultural activities on Land Day Wednesday 30.03.2016 including plantation of trees in different SMRC areas. A group of VTP students have also carried out agricultural and farming arrangements at the Grand Park Hotel on Thursday 31.03.2016. The Hotel personnel have provided lunch meals to SMRC students. We build the capacity of people with intellectual disability to excell in all aspects of life. Visit of Herrnhuter Diakonie Staff and Members from the German Board of Directors SMRC welcomed 3 staff members from Herrnhuter Diakonie during 23.10.2016-13.11.2016 to learn about SMRC different programs and volunteer in its activities. This comes as part of a long term exchange program between SMRC and Herrnhuter Diakonie in which staff from both institutions exchange year after year to share knowledge and acquire new skills. SMRC has organized a number of recreational and educational trips for them i.e. visiting Birzeit, Ramallah, Aboud, Taybeh, Jericho, Nablus, Bethlehem and many more places. SMRC has also welcomed during that period members of the German Board of Directors to follow-up on SMRC’s work progress and meet different officials in the country. Graduation of Circus Students The Palestinian Circus School graduated SMRC students on Tuesday 26.04.2016. The School invited their parents to attend and watch some circus exercises to draw their attention to the importance of training and developing the physical capacity of students and including them in the community. Open Day SMRC’s highlight in 2016 was its Open Day under the slogan: Persons with Disability have the Right to Employment. On Thursday 03.11.2016 SMRC’s doors were open to more than 800 people from all over the West Bank. The Open Day was held under the auspices of Deputy Minister of Labor Mr. Naser Qattami, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate Mr. Khalil Rizeq. It was financially supported by the Austrian Development Agency represented by Mr. Andrea Nazi, Representative of the State of Austria in Palestine and Jawwal Company from PalTel Group. Many distinguished guests attended including the Head of Czech Republic Representative Office, Mr. Radec Rubes, as well as, tens of other private companies, NGOs and GOs. After the official opening ceremony, six of SMRC’s students were handed graduation certificates after having found jobs in the local community. Most impressing was the Career Day organized afterwards, in which around 19 organizations and companies conducted job interviews with persons with disabilities from all over the West Bank aiming at creating job opportunities for them. Throughout the day, different folklore and musical groups played music, danced and acted on stage, with tens of exhibition booths presenting their goods, sweets and food for sale. The Open Day was a great success! Ramallah, POB 199, West Bank, Palestine-Office: 00972-(0)2-296 27 05 – 06 Fax 02–296 27 15 - Email: [email protected] STAR MOUNTAIN REHABILITATION CENTER – MORAVIAN CHURCH 4 December 2016 Advent Season 2016 The Advent Season is a very special time at Star Mountain. Over the past 4 weeks, we have been celebrating Advent on Monday mornings, in the presence of Rev. Imad Haddad. It involved a number of activities including singing, storytelling, playing, dancing, distribution of chocolates, and listening to Christmas songs. Students baked Christmas cookies, ate Raisin Buns, and several other seasonal sweets and delights during the past weeks. Beautiful art work was produced by students in class all with the Christmas theme. The Christmas party on Monday the 19th of December culminated the month-long celebrations, in which Santa distributed a special present for each child and youth.

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