Inspirational Community Effort in West Bank

"I consider it an honor for Dalia Association to be involved with Friends of the Blind,” says Mohammad Shaheen, who is the Chair of Dalia Association’s Board of Directors. “There are many inspirational Palestinian community-based organizations, but this one is truly exemplary.”

Friends of the Blind Association is one of about 6 schools providing compulsory education to blind and visually impaired children in the West Bank. There are 2 more schools in the Gaza Strip. Friends of the Blind has about 56 live-in students and an additional 20 commuters who live in nearby towns. Students receive a high quality education using the Palestinian Authority curriculum, which is printed in Braille on the school’s high quality printing press. They also get shelter, food, healthcare, and clothing in a safe, nurturing environment. This is all provided at no charge to students or their families. “

In a normal country, a school like Friends of the Blind would get substantial support from the government, tuition, and from grants,”says Nora Lester Murad, Executive Director of Dalia Association. “But in the occupied Palestinian territory there is no real government and the Palestinian Authority doesn’t have resources to support specialized schools for the blind and visually impaired. And since the students come from especially poor families, it is not reasonable to charge tuition.” One should note that as an occupying force, under international humanitarian law it is Israel, the occupying power, that carries the responsibility to provide for the occupied population, but no support comes from that source either.

For this reason, Sam Bahour, member of Dalia’s Board of Directors, is particularly impressed by the school’s ability to combine volunteer labor, in-kind contributions, local support, international support, and income-generation in order to keep the school in a healthy financial situation. “In fact,” says Nora Lester Murad, “the school contacted us because they wanted to improve their financial sustainability. It turns out they only needed Dalia to provide some minimal support for them. When I was in Boston, Massachusetts last summer, I was able to purchase a supply of spare parts for the Braille typewriters that students use to take notes and study. Buying them directly from the supplier and carrying then with me in my luggage saved the school a lot of money, time and potential hassle, since money transfers and shipping are complicated here. Also, we are trying to use our networks to identify donors willing to buy a new school bus for the school.”

“When I visited the school, I felt so pleased for the children who are fortunate enough to study there. Too often, Palestinians have to settle for the worst. In the case of the Friends of the Blind,” said the secretary of Dalia’s Board of Directors, “children who might otherwise be a burden on their families are now being trained to fulfill their potential and become real assets to their society.”

Sam Bahour (left) and Mohammad Shaheen (right) tour the spotless and well-equipped school for the blind and visually impaired with Sheikh Hayyan, Chairman of the Board of the Friend of the Blind Association.

A sighted teacher helps a student take notes on a Braille typewriter.

Students can study at Friends of the Blind Association through 10th grade when they either stop schooling, transfer to vocational education, or continue in a government school until taking the Tawjihi exam that enables them to enter university. No graduate of Friends of the Blind Association has ever failed the Tawjihi exam.

Students learn religion, English and all other required subjects. Friends of the Blind Association provides Braille Korans to blind students and community members at no charge.

Sheikh Hayyan keeps operational costs low by doing all the manual labor himself with the help of the school bus driver. This includes assembly of students' beds, installation of doors and playground equipment, and even taking special classes overseas in order to repair Braille typewriters for blind students across the West Bank.

Specialized equipment to magnify text or to audibly read the internet in Arabic is extremely pensive, but absolutely essential to the provision of quality education for blind and visually impaired students.

Members of Dalia's Board of Directors learn about the difficulty of raising funds for and acquiring special paper needed for Braille printing. Without special learning equipment and supplies, blind and visually impaired children don't receive the same educational opportunity as other children.