Princess Basma Centre for Chi ldren with disabi l i t ies

Serving our Communities since 1965 Newsletter 2nd Quarter, 2016

In this issue

A Message from the Chairman

Inclusive School Graduation

The Opening of the Kindergarten

Success Story “ Where there is a will, there is

way”

Support us

Activities

EU/Diakonia Project

PBC shares its experience on Autism

A meeting with a High Delegation from Malta

A Message from the Chairman

Princess Basma Centre is one of the leading centers

in Palestine and especially in Jerusalem area for the

provision of services for children with special

needs. The Centre provides advanced therapy

programs and mainstream education for children

with special needs.

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, is responsible

for more than thirty organizations in the Middle

East that provide services in the fields of education,

healthcare, and vocational training.

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

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

and respond to the new and evolving needs of chil-

dren with disabilities.

The Princess Basma Centre is an active member of

the East Jerusalem Hospitals’ Network (EJHN).

This network is very active in developing and im-

proving healthcare services for Palestinians from all

over the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem.

I would also like to highlight the continuous support

and care of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma

Bint Talal of Jordan, for the Centre. Her Highness is

known for her enormous support to many develop-

ment programs and charity organizations in Jordan,

and also to our educational institutions in Jordan.

Every year Her Royal Highness participates at the

graduation ceremonies of our schools in Jordan,

were she provides inspiration to the newly graduat-

ed students.

Chairman of the Princess Basma Centre

Archbishop Suheil Dawani

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 Princess Basma Inclusive School celebrated

the graduation of the 7th high school batch

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

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

and in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of

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

disabilities in the mainstreaming classrooms.

Chairman of the Board, His Beatitude the Archbishop

Suheil Dawani said: “On our Golden Jubilee,

celebrating 50 years of working with and serving

children with disabilities, we are proud to continue

providing children with disabilities rehabilitation

services, and education.”

The Inclusive School was established in 1987 out of

the belief that children with disabilities have equal

rights to have access to quality education and out of

the great need in the Jerusalem area. The school is

managed by the Princess Basma Institution and has

become a role model in inclusive education. The

school serves children with various kinds of

disabilities including physical disabilities, hearing

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.

Archbishop Suheil Dawani together with Mr. Adnan Husseini, the

Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem & Sheikh Azzam Al Khatib, General

Manager Administration of Islamic Affairs and Al-Aqsa Mosque during

the opening celebration

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

and growing well, yet Yousef had troubles feeding or com-

municating with his surroundings.

Futoun thought it’s only a regular problem since it was her

first pregnancy and had no experience in upbringing chil-

dren.

As the time passed the girls started crawling and using

sounds to express their feelings, while Yousef did not react

with any person and was always silent and kept looking up.

Futoun started to worry, and expressed her concerns to her

husband who at first refused to believe that Yousef is facing

any problems, yet Futoun insisted to pay a visit to a doctor in

her village.

The doctor at the village after the diagnosis brought up the

shocking news, telling the mother that the child will never

walk or talk or even communicate with his surroundings, and

advised her to take him home with no treatment to offer.

The news was too hurtful to accept and the father couldn’t

handle it, while Futoun insisted to find a treatment to Yousef,

moving from one doctor to the other. After visiting more

than 20 doctors, who gave her no real hope for any develop-

ment or treatment for Yousef’s case, Futoun finally heard

about Farah Clinic that works in partnership with Princess

Basma Centre (PBC). Futoun reached the clinic and sched-

uled a meeting with Dr. Waddah Malhees, the Medical Di-

rector at the PBC, who and together with the multi-

disciplinary team visits on a regular basis the partner clinics

and diagnose many cases.

Yousef was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and Dr. Waddah

referred him to PBC. Yousef had lots of impairments and

difficulties such as sensory problems, poor head and trunk

control, poor sitting balance, and he wasn’t able to use any

social signs or facial expressions.

Finally at the age of one and a half, Yousef was admitted at

the PBC, and immediately received a comprehensive rehabil-

itation program that consisted of Physiotherapy, hydrothera-

py, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy.

Futoun said: “I felt at home at PBC, the therapists answered

all my questions without any delays, giving me the right

tools to deal with Yousef”.

After the fifth admission, Yousef has shown a lot of im-

provement in auditory perception, visual and tactile. Yousef

can now walk indoors using the walkers with a very good

control and balance. He also can express himself by smiling

and using all kinds of facial expressions.

Ms. Lucy Ghraybe, one of the physiotherapists at the Centre

said: “when Yousef was admitted to the Centre, he was

afraid of therapists and physicians due to the many visits to

clinics before. It took time to gain his trust with team work

of the therapists, Yousef started to open to his surroundings,

and started to show good progress”.

Yousef is now 3 years old. He will continue to receive thera-

pies at the Centre in order to achieve a level of independence

and improvement in his quality of life.

WHEN THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY

Donate NowDonate NowDonate Now———Support our MissionSupport our MissionSupport 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: aklynn@afedj.org

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

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.

Princess Basma Centre continues for the 2nd Year with the project:

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

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

Republic of Malta

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 Ramallah on 30

March 2016 to discuss cooperation on the issue of

Autism.

The Honourable Angelo Farrugia, accompanied with his

wife Carmela Farrugia, headed a high profile delegation

including members of parliament: The Honourable

Michael Falzon and The Honourable Silvio Parnis

together with Mr. Ancel Farrugia Migneco - PA to the

Speaker.

The meeting focused on joint cooperation on the issue of

Autism. During the meeting Mr. Faltas shared with the

delegation the history of the Princess Basma Centre in

Jerusalem, and services provided for Palestinian

children. He also thanked Mr. Reuben Gauci for his keen

interest to support the work of the Princess Basma Centre

on Autism.

Mr. Angelo Farrugia highlighted the importance of the

issue of Autism for the Parliament and Government of

Malta and the activities to take place in Malta for the

Day of Autism on 2 April 2016. On his part and on the

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.

Support Mother / Child Care

During the admission of each child to the rehabilita-tion department, for around 2-3 weeks, the Centre also opens its dormitory to the mothers to stay with the child during the admission period.

The mother receives awareness sessions and special homework's to support the child back home, and attends each therapy session.

We believe the presence of the mother is essential for the progress of each child.

Support us by donating for each mother 1500$

For More Information about the Centre please visit:

Website: www.basma-centre.org

Email us: info@basma-centre.org

Princess Basma Centre for Children with Disabilities

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.