December 2011

P.O.Box 15, Salt 19110, Jordan

Tel. + 962 5 3554953 Fax + 962 5 3554951 E-mail HLID@go.com.jo

Allah Kariem God provides

ORAORA ET LABORAET LABORA

under the auspices of the Jerusalem Diocese of the Arab

Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East

(Pray and Work)

Annual reportAnnual report

2010 – 2012010 – 20111

A MESSAGE FROM THE INSTITUTE

“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”

Around 1975/6 a civil war raged in Beirut-Lebanon. Night after night the heavy gun

emplacements near the Deaf school roared away, sending death and destruction into

Beirut city. For us that was not as bad as the incoming heavy caliber grenades that

sought to destroy the heavy cannon around us but ended up hitting the school. The

electricity authorities had given up on repairing the overhead cables and you just did

what you could, repairing them yourself, running cables to the neighbours, installing

generators. Thus we were getting used to having only occasional electrical power. The

village bakery nearby was having a hard time as without electricity he could not run his

mixers, ovens and whatever else. The baker tried his best and was always there as soon

as the electricity came back on. People knew and would go to get large quantities of

bread the moment they thought it safe, and subsequently the bakery was always sold out.

One late Saturday afternoon the electricity was switched back on and he started baking

bread, expecting people to come as usual. However, because only a little later the

shelling started people were held back from leaving their houses, afraid to cross the

streets and get bread.

On a hill nearby the school was a convent of the

Sisters of St. Claire, a silent order where the

sisters would not speak unless strictly necessary.

But, for that matter, they would pray the more.

Under war- like conditions it was difficult for

them to go to the city and buy their supplies and

so I had offered that whenever I went to get our

own supplies I would call first to get their

shopping list as well. Going to the city and

sometimes getting shot at (or kidnapped) was

hazardous enough and one was always mentally

in high gear and perhaps not in the right frame of

mind for other than very quick emergency

prayers. Therefore the deal with the sisters was

that I would do the shopping and they would do

some serious praying. It so happened that during

one week, just before Easter, they had not asked

Message from Br. Andrew

“Therefore the deal with the sisters was that I would do

the shopping and they would do some serious praying”

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for anything because they were fasting till early

Sunday morning when they would celebrate the

resurrection of our Lord. All I needed to do was

make sure that there was enough fresh bread and

some other things on the Saturday evening for

them to celebrate Easter. That Saturday before

Easter Sunday I had been to the city to buy food

and other supplies as well as some bread and we

had enough bread for next morning’s breakfast,

with some left for the rest of Easter day. But

early evening someone knocked on the kitchen

door and lo and behold, there was a sister to see

about their bread. To my great embarrassment I

had to admit that I had forgotten to buy extra

supplies for them as promised. I insisted that they

should take the bread we had as we (!) didn’t mind having rice pudding the next day.

Although the sister did not really like the idea we managed to convince her to take the

bread. At least that way we had kept our promise and they could eat after fasting the

week. Perhaps this would be our turn to fast?

Late in the evening there was again a knock on the kitchen door. I went to open and

couldn’t believe my eyes. There was the village baker with an enormous pile of beautiful

fresh bread (the Arabic flat bread) in his arms, and a polite question on his lips whether

he could come in. He had been baking since the afternoon when power had come on, but

when the shelling started again people had not come. As he did not want to waste the

bread and had missed us coming to the bakery, he had thought that perhaps we could use

some? There was all the fresh bread we needed, and more to spare, from a wonderfully

generous baker and a wonderfully caring God. Later I asked Mother Superior in the

Convent whether they had prayed? Of course they had…

“Late in the evening there was again a knock on the

kitchen door. I went to open and couldn’t believe my eyes”

A MESSAGE FROM THE INSTITUTE

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A UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION

The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf seeks to enable and prepare deaf, hard-of-hearing

and deafblind children, as well as people with other sensory and physical disabilities, for

inclusion and participation in their families and communities in a meaningful way, and to

make their valuable contribution to civic society in the Middle East.

The HLID provides an attractive and challenging social and learning environment and

comprehensive services for hearing impaired children to develop and expand their

individual capacities.

In the following sections you can read about the Institute’s activities.

WHAT WE BELIEVE? (VISION)

“We believe in a world in which all are seen as equal, both in the eyes of people as well

as of the Creator, the Lord our God”.

WHAT WE WANT? (MISSION)

WHY WE DO THIS? (VALUES)

WHAT WE DO? (MANDATE)

Unique

Everybody is created in the image of God. All people, including Deaf people and those

who are deafblind or otherwise disabled, are important for society.

Being a neighbour

We want to live the lessons and examples of Jesus the Christ (the Messiah) in our daily

walk, decisions and activities. We see an important role for diaconal service, that is: to

be an altruistic neighbour because of the Creator and his loving plan for this world. The

Arabic words ‘Allah Kariem’, meaning ‘God provides’, bind us together. The way God

cares for us, so we care for each other.

Together with the Islamic community

Most of our work is located in an Islamic

context. It is important to develop and

maintain good and respectful relations with

the Moslem and other communities around

us. As children of Abraham our mutual

heritage lies at the root of this concept and

we wish to break down walls of

misunderstanding.

Church network

As part of the local Church - the (Arab) Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle

East - the Institute and its local and international partners represent one of the diaconal

activities of the Christian communities worldwide.

Petra: deafblind Mohammed on his Camel

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During the past year the main building

activity concerned the new Chapel. The

old one became too small and was always

very hot during the summer months. The

new and bigger Chapel has better air-

circulation and is lighter. We are still

working on the Audio- and Visual

equipment. The boys of the Institute’s

vocational training helped by doing the

woodwork, the painters painted and the

metal work students made the balustrades

and window bars.

We are enormously grateful to the major donors, the Maurice and Hilde Laing

Foundation - UK and the Jordanian Issam and Samia Salfiti Family Fund. At the

Ashford School in England a few students worked together with a stained-glass artist on

the window by the baptistery, donated by the UCST (United Church School Trust). Our

colleague Alia also did some stained-glass work and friends in Egypt painted the

beautiful icons. The large lighting fixtures, curtains and other items were donated by

Jordanian friends.

In August the foundation works for the new building were started. It will accommodate

the expansion for the deafblind unit and the new offices, reception and other space for

the administration.

The building itself was paid by USAID

and HM the King will donate the lift (for

the deafblind children) and all the

furniture. We thank the donors most

sincerely.

BUILDINGS

A NEW CHAPEL

Involving the Almighty in our lives

Everything, even buildings, grows

DEAFBLIND Unit & ADMINISTRATION bloc

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INSTITUTE

The Organisational Development project that was initiated 3 years ago meant to streamline the organization and make its staf

positions that were found to be needed, and develop proper succession plans. Meanwhile we also had a good look at the finances and were able to implement some savings without compromising

on the quality of the various programmes.

The expanded administration costs more money but

it helps us to be more efficient and effective,

particularly in fundraising and public relations. We

are grateful to CBM-Germany for providing the

financial support and consultancies for the

organizational development plan.

The administrative staff now numbers 9 people.

Next we are keen to develop a well-researched and

considered Knowledge-Management (KM)

programme. In a meeting of senior staff somebody

recently remarked that there were literally

hundreds of years of experience sitting around the

table. We want to treasure this “intellectual and

social capital”. The planned KM department will

help us institutionalize this valuable knowledge,

experience and expertise. It will guide the planning

and implementation of the administration

(computerization) and training for the staff (self-

learning). We would like to make this knowledge

and experience available to others and particularly

to the Institute’s new generation of leaders and

staff (mentoring). Finally, we hope to strengthen

the school’s future educational and vocational

training curricula (Deaf education) and expand the

national and regional training programmes

(training of others through department S.T.R.I.D.E.

- Salt Training & Resource institute for Disability,

Etc.).

We will need some additional funding to be able to

recruit the appropriate staff.

Most importantly, we are still in need of expert

help to develop this project.

Organizational Develoment (OD)

Knowledge Management (KM)

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e organization and make its staff structure more horizontal, strengthen the administration with some

lso had a good look at the finances and were able to implement some savings without compromising

INSTITUTE

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SCHOOL

Preparing women to become self-

supporting and live a productive and

independent life.

Originally the HLID was just a school for deaf children. At the present time children

from the very early age of 3 years until they reach maturity and have completed High

school, find here a loving and stimulating place.

They are taught to communicate with others in their own language, which is Sign

language. They will also use the spoken and particularly the written language and

develop competent skills in both Arabic and English. In competitions and other shared

activities with regular schools the Deaf young people prove to be quite the equals - and

sometimes perform even better - than their hearing peers. This year six students

completed 12th grade and graduated from High school. They continued their studies in

various fields at University level.

The financial support for 70 needy students

from the Higher Council (HCD) is greatly

appreciated. We also want to thank the many

international sponsors and donors who help

the children come to school.

Of the 34 qualified teachers 10 are

themselves Deaf. The total number of

children and young people in school is 159.

No future without knowledge

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Girls

The department offers training in skills and

crafts that will enable women to work in

industry or at home and augment the private or family income. For those who show

interest, aptitude and skill there are programmes for child care, ear mould manufacture or

computer skills as well.

30 Girls and young women learn basic domestic skills (sewing, cooking and cleaning),

and employable skills such as weaving and embroidery, ceramics and mosaic work.

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Boys

Students from the carpentry, painting and

metalwork sections worked on a number of

projects for clients or for the school, such as

the new chapel. They make wooden

furniture, kitchens, doors & windows, as

well as metal balustrades and burglar bars.

Others painted and also helped around the

school in various ways. Two boys want to be weavers, which needs muscles. One boy is

good at art and drawing and he joined the ceramics section.

The workshops seek to earn income and cover expenses by marketing the products they

manufacture.

A total of 30 boys attended the vocational training.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Giving boys the best possible start

in their professional life

Constant and persistent training is given by

both teachers and Deaf young people to the

deafblind children. Love, patience and

perseverance open up a world for them

which they would never know if this unit

did not exist.

New children were accepted, who start by

getting to know and trust the people who care for them. Two and a half year old

Mourhaf, f.i., has learned to trust his teacher and has happy moments with the deaf girl

taking care of him. Slowly he gets more familiar with the rhythm and routines of the day

and he already knows how to express that he is hungry or thirsty.

The Jordanian Higher Council for the Affairs of Person with Disabilities (HCD) provides

substantial support. We are also very grateful to Swiss Friends of the Holy Land Institute

for the Deaf for their generous financial help.

There were five boys and three girls in the unit this year. They are taught and cared for by

8 teachers by day and 3 at night. One volunteer is working with 17 year old Mohammed,

and the deaf children take turns caring for the deafblind outside school hours.

Learning to make full use of

senses that are functional

DEAFBLIND UNIT

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Without Sign language Deaf children live an

isolated life and will have serious problems

learning how to express themselves fluently

and discuss their needs and desires. It is

wonderful to see how these children start to

blossom once they understand what

language can do for them. The Sign

language department conducted courses for

teachers for the deaf. It also developed films and videos to better be able to instruct Sign

language and standardize the exams. This year Rowan, a Deaf university graduate who

has just signed up for a Master’s degree, is the teacher. She teaches and also helps

Ahlam with the development of training materials for Sign language Interpreting

training courses.

Two of the school’s teachers passed the Sign language interpreting exams and are now

licensed to interpret in official settings, such as hospitals, schools, courts of law, etc.

The Sign language education and the Training for Sign language Interpreters courses that

are given through this department also earn income as participants usually pay a small

amount of money as fees, but financial support is needed.

Courses in level 1 and 2 were given to school staff, teachers, parents, University students

and others interested. For level 1 there were 39 participants, and 8 for level 2.

Communication without spoken language

The department provided hearing aids for people

who are poor and cannot afford to buy them. Many

people came to the clinic in the Institute, or to the

Outreach programme clinics on locations throughout the country. There the Audiology

team could help them by testing their hearing and fitting the hearing aids they needed so

badly. Ear moulds were custom-made to fit their ears, and clients were given (back) the

priceless gift of better hearing.

We are grateful for the financial support

from the Higher Council (HCD) as well as

from CBM (Christoffel Blind Mission-

Germany) and other sources.

A total of 5341 patients were seen, both new

and old ones, for control. 375 hearing aids

were given out, 386 impressions were made,

and 353 ear moulds fitted.

Giving “ear” to the poor

H.E.A.R. (Hearing aids, Ear moulds, Audiology & Resources)

SIGN LANGUAGE department

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

Sharing knowledge about teaching the

deaf with others will multiply the

numbers of deaf people who benefit

from the available experience and

expertise. The HLID / STRIDE

department conducted courses in Iraq and

Jordan for both Deaf and hearing teachers for deaf children. Parents in Iraq attended

Deaf-awareness and Child-Protection seminars, to better equip them to raise their deaf

children. In Jordan the basic and follow-up Sign language courses were given to teachers

in two Deaf schools. Five-week courses on Deaf culture and history were given to deaf

class room assistants. Books are being translated and prepared for publication on the

rehabilitation and education of deafblind children. Government curricula and syllabi as

well as other materials that are used in regular schools were adapted and printed for use

at the HLID. Through the HLID / STRIDE department the whole Middle East region

benefits from the expertise that is gathered and developed in Salt.

The STRIDE department’s Teacher Training for teachers (Hearing and Deaf) of the Deaf

earns income by offering its programme of training courses to international organizations

in the region. CBM-Germany continues to support these courses as well.

In Iraq 17 people participated in the basic course, 13 in the follow up course and 6 came

to Salt for the advanced course. Two seminars about awareness were attended by around

80 parents each, and were given in two schools.

One and one makes many

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The outreach programme aims to give

persons with sensory, physical, mental

and multiple impairments an opportunity to participate in their community and play a

meaningful role in society. In many places in Jordan services are being provided through

the CBR programmes. Together with ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) and

HLID / STRIDE a project was started in Sukhneh refugee camp to help deaf and disabled

people with medical treatment, rehabilitation, education and training. A similar project

for the Madaba refugee camp is now in progress. Not only the camp, but the towns and

surrounding areas benefit. In every Outreach location training courses are given to

teachers and volunteers on the integration and inclusion of deaf and hearing impaired

children in regular schools. Teachers receive training on the planning and preparation of

lesson plans and lessons for deaf children. The mobile HEAR Audiology clinic visits

each location once a month to perform hearing tests and fit ear moulds and hearing aids.

These programmes are very important as they reach the poorest of the poor. The ANERA-

and other such short-term projects are financed by the respective partner organizations.

However, the longer-term Outreach programmes do not receive regular support from

outside sources.

The Outreach team consists of 3 specialists from the HLID, as well as 1 specialist for the

blind, 2 physiotherapists, 1 occupational therapist and 1 expert in special education who

are seconded by specialized partner organizations in Jordan. Unfortunately there was a

vacancy for the Sign language

team member. In the four

(Outreach) community centers

300 children and adults benefit

from these services. 105 of

them are deaf.

Inclusion for Deaf and disabled

persons in community and society

OUTREACH

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In and around

A house of service for

people with disabilities

Jofeh Community RehabilitationCentre "Beit Saleem" near the Dead Sea,much work is being done for both hearing-,visually-, intellectually- and physicallyimpaired children. Many of them areintegrated in public schools in the area. In

the centre itself the workshops for sewing, embroidery, paper recycling, woodwork,weaving and computing are a blessing for many young people with disabilities and theirfamilies in this under-privileged and underdeveloped area. Many lovely items wereproduced, and bought by the many visitors that come to visit the centre.

There is a kindergarten class for hearing impaired children in Jofeh village and there aretwo classes for them in regular public schools. A number of hearing and visuallyimpaired children as well as some physically challenged children are fully integrated inpublic schools in two villages. Each school has one volunteer to help them.

The Beit Saleem centre generates income through the beautiful articles that are beingproduced by staff, trainees and volunteers. We are very happy with the continuingsupport of the Episcopal Relief & Development Organization (ERD) in New York, andits regular financial grants. They are very much appreciated.

12 trainees participated in a 2-months training course on weaving, needle work andceramics at the vocational training department at the HLID in Salt. 27 employees andvolunteers were trained and serve in Jofeh itself. A total of 143 children and adults withdisabilities, including 3 classes with intellectually impaired children and 2 classes withDeaf children, benefited from the centre.

JOFEH

FINANCIAL REPORT

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Note: The surplus/deficit represents money held in accounts for current capital projects

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FINANCIAL REPORT

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Holy Land Institute for the Deaf

P.O.Box 15, Salt 19110, Jordan

Tel.: +962 5 355 4953 Fax: +962 5 335 4951

Email: hlid@go.com.jo

Please visit our website: www.allah-kariem.org

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THANKYOU

‘Thankyou’ to the Societies “Allah Kariem” - Friends of the Holy and Institute for the

Deaf - Holland, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA; the Higher

Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) - Jordan; CBM (Christoffel

Blind Mission) - Germany; USAID; Bussandri Foundation - Canada; Jordan Jewel Tour;

HIKMA/Arab Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company - Salt; Episcopal Relief &

Development (ERD) - USA; Intercontinental Hotel-Amman; Netherlands Embassy -

Amman; HSBC Bank - Amman; ANERA - USA; Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) -

USA; Union Bank - Amman; Ahli Bank - Salt/Amman; Least Coin Fellowship; Young

Presidents Organization; Jordan-Kuwait Bank; our faithful friend Alistair Eadie; Twinkle

Society & Rula Kattan; British Evang. Deaf Church; Ranwa Nuqul & family; Anglican

Church- Ladies Guild - Amman; N.T.Community Church - USA; Anglo-Jordanian Society

- UK; Lions Clubs - Jordan; Mrs. F.M.Dababneh; ‘Lammers-church choir’ - Holland;

local businesses that give discounts and schools that are supportive in a variety of ways;

…and many friends; “Allah Kariem” (God Provides!).

At the HLID praying and working go hand-in-hand