AMMONNEWS - By Madeleine Mezagopian - While many if not majority of Jordanians spend their time lamenting, complaining and even protesting about current domestic and regional conditions. A much overlooked entity with very low profile continues with great determination serving humanity through not only attending to the health needs of the people with disabilities (PWD). They educate and empower them in an inclusive environment to become confident productive members of the society, Al Hussein Society Jordan/Center for Training and Inclusion (AHS).

Scarcity if not lack of resources and absence of skilled human capital are often echoed by ambitious, well intentioned people who cannot deliver amid all the surrounding challenges.

Within these same circumstances even with further challenges, AHS not only delivers but initiates, implements and aims at creating inclusive society on all levels. It continues to provide comprehensive upgraded rehab services reaching people with disabilities of all nationalities including refugees across the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

End of 2018 and year 2019, despite still five months to end, bears yet another testament to the colossal contribution of AHS in attending to the needs of the most vulnerable segments of the Arab nation residing in Jordan.

AHS bid farewell to 2018 with an international conference “Community –Based Inclusive Development (CBID) in cooperation with the international development organization Christoffel-Blindenmissionian (CBM) which aimed, inter alia, at disseminating awareness on the significance of implementing community-based rehabilitation strategies in all the sectors of the society. AHS provided quality services to more than 2691 people with disabilities, in addition to capacity building of relevant staff and enriching the already existing centers with new programs. 251 out of 310 wheel chairs, donated by Latter-Day Saints (LDS), were distributed to beneficiaries and the efforts continued towards the establishment of the AHS Regional Training Center with the support of CBM.

Year 2019 was welcomed with a follow up and future cooperation motivated visit to AHS by the Ambassador of Germany, key AHS partner, to Jordan. Workshops were organized dedicated to upgrading teachers’ skills and knowledge in relevance to protecting children from abuse and music as teaching strategy, inter alia, to be followed with Stanford-Binet Test-Fifth Image training of AHS staff. In March, with the usual generosity of their very few however committed partners, AHS, together with the German Action Medeor organization, organized a training program entitled “Early Intervention and treatment approach for children with HCSB and other neurologic impairment’ which aims at capacity building of the physiotherapists and occupational therapists of the Society staff thus enhancing the status of the Society as an accredited training center for rehabilitation sciences programs.

The children of the Society had also their share, however an entertaining one, through attending and interacting with an Irish musical band who performed at AHS with the support of the Irish Embassy in Jordan.

In April, motivated by the need to provide its children and adults not only with their basic needs, but to feed them with the latest knowledge. In cooperation with the Rotary Club Amman-Jerash, AHS hosted one of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program with the theme “Towards Inclusive Society.” It involved many activities including workshops on artificial intelligence and emotional intelligence of the children, inclusion sport activities when Lieutenant Rula Al Amro introduced her initiative “Sport For All” which enhances inclusion through games and sports.

The limit of AHS’ generosity and care is indeed the sky. The spring of 2019 was celebrated with a gift to the Jordanian society at large by AHS through organizing a free medical day of awareness, Rehabilitation Services Day entitled “Joy of Unconditional Giving,” when the staff evaluated the needs of PWD and elderly for different rehabilitation programs. Again the presence of partners was detected through exhibiting the devices sponsored by Action Medeor, while CBM International continued supporting the enhancement of AHS staff through a training program by technology expert coach Pantelis Makris.

Proud parents, staff, board members, international and local private partners, hardly any representative of relevant governmental entities, with no media presence, AHS graduated its empowered children during most joyful graduation celebration with the theme “The Joy in Learning.”

Last but surely not least, AHS went further from practice towards theory through initiating and eventually signing on June 21 a cooperation agreement with the Hashemite University in relevance to Vocational Diploma in Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR). Further, the joy of summer was well invested through inclusive summer camp of diverse activities.

Aside of the local partners who receive services from more than deliver services to AHS e.g. the Hashemite University and the University of Jordan where 156 and 30 physiotherapy and occupational therapy students respectively received clinical training, in addition to the existing cooperation with Corporate Social Responsibility UAE and with Arcenciel in Lebanon. The sustainability of AHS is dependent on its non-Arab international partners, mentioned above, in addition to others e.g. UPP, OCHA, USAID, HELP, CLASP, Orange.

In the light of the above mentioned, yes we must celebrate and welcome international cooperation and solidarity. But shouldn’t Arab solidarity and partnership prioritize such cooperation? Shouldn’t Arab children be first and foremost the concern of Arabs, individuals and organizations?