Sweater and Wheat

Well into the Wheat Festival

2007-07-26T11:10:00.000+02:00

To train a person with special needs to work is a very delicate issue to handle. Most of these kids and adults are very sensitive. They see a normal person succeed in work and study while they are only limited to receiving love and care.

However, when they get trained to work and achieve in work on a daily basis, their attitude changes. They feel pride in their success and that they can integrate in the society. However, integrating them in the society remains theoretical until the society understands their achievements.

Residents of Al-Amal Institute for the Disabled feel a sense of pride in manufacturing the "Winter Sweater" at Al-Amal Centre in Broummana, which has exceeded 120,000 pieces since 1992 and which have warmed needy persons all over Lebanon.

Nowadays these residents are occupied with the administration and are volunteering in implementing the "Welfare Wheat" program which, merged with the "Winter Sweater", is now called the "Sweater & Wheat" program. This new program encourages people with special needs in rural areas to plant their land with wheat, lentils, chickpeas & beans and turning the wheat into burghul (crushed wheat after boiling & drying the wheat).

The "Welfare Wheat" festival every summer is a big gathering for residents of Al-Amal with volunteers basically coming from 69 welfare centers spread all over Lebanon to help in turning the wheat into burghol and packing the crops before distributing them to the same welfare centers.

During this festival we work together with people with special needs and every minute we feel their pride in their achievements. When we go to swim in the Litani River these kids feel stronger and healthier. Their bodies are rejuvenated by the river water which helps them feel stronger. They also sense the care and love transmitted by their trainers.

The trainers sit daily in the evening and talk about the changes they feel amongst these kids and how they are developing their skills and how the normal kids are accepting them better.

Yes, we are proud of that and hope that you can join us one day during this festival.

The Lebanese Army often join us to assist with logistics and transportation. They also provide advise to the local population on how to avoid land mines and cluster bombs. They even provide some entertainment with their bands.

The festival will finish by the end of this week. So far we have purchased about 20 tons of crops from peasants with special needs. We helped in building the square of the "Rock Village" that Al-Amal is planning to build for people with special needs in South Lebanon on its land near the city of Nabatieh.

We receive visitors on a daily basis to join in the activities and the fun and to show their support. We wish to thank all those who supported us and those who will support us at a later stage. We promise to continue our reports to you.

Preparing for the Welfare Wheat Festival

2007-05-10T07:44:00.000+02:00

On Thursday 26th April a delegation from Al Amal and some friends from Lebanon and Canada travelled to the south of Lebanon. First, Sarmad brought his mother-in-law Naimy to visit the Institute.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

The residents of the Institute are busier than ever

Sweaters being sawn and wheat being weighed to be placed in the packages

L to R: Naimy with Mahmoud and Nisreen, Adon , Nisreen and Sarmad

L to R: Naimy with Mahmoud and Nurse/Assistant/Secretary Reva, Mahmoud with Nassib

Naimy, Sarmad and Nassib with Mrs. Mounira El Solh, founder of Al Amal Institute for the disabled

Then we headed to Beirut to pick up Marie Claude Fleyfel and her husband Mohamed. On the way we dropped off some produce packages that the Institute give to donors through a telemarketing company in Beirut. For every $70 Al Amal receive from donors they get a unit containing the annual consumption of crops for one person, a “Winter Sweater” made by residents of Al Amal, and cleaning material made by Lebanese factories.

The landrover being loaded up with the wheat packages to be taken to the Telemarketers

Then we headed south. The purpose of the visit was to present the Arnoun Schoolmaster with the application to use the school at Arnoun during the festival period. However, while in the region we took the opportunity to tour some of the areas that were affected by the war last July. For a detailed account of this trip and to view pictures please read the entry in Sarmad’s blog.

The village of Arnoun, the school in the middle. Beaufort Castle in the background

The “Sunbilat Al Khair”, (Welfare Wheat), festival is normally held during the 2nd half of July and the 1st half of August. The purpose of the festival is to help the farmers in the area of Arnoun and their families to harvest, collect and gather the wheat and tobacco produce from their lands, transport it to a huge tent erected on land owned by Al Amal.

The land where the Wheat festival takes place, the posts mark the location of the main tent

L to R: Marie Claude with Adnan and Naimy with Adnan

Then the process of peeling, cleaning and sorting out the wheat starts, followed by cracking some of them transforming them into “burghol”, which is one of the staple foods in the area, as well as in Lebanon. This work is carried out by the mentally handicapped and people with special needs residing at Al Amal Institute for the Disabled and local voluteers of all ages. They are often visited by people travelling to see first hand the work Al Amal does and join in with the work.

The process of cleaning and cracking the wheat - 2004 Welfare Wheat festival

The Institute received a major boost following the Newsletter emailed on 4th April 2007. Shortly after emailing the Newsletter Al Amal received a generous donation of $25,000 from a kindhearted individual who asked to remain anonymous. This helped to inject some much needed stimulant to the “Sweater & Wheat” campaign, and has now allowed the residents at the Institute to step up production of winter sweaters, in addition to providing the Institute with funds to purchase more grain from peasants with special needs at harvest time, during the “Welfare Wheat” festival and the “Harvest” camp.

This year will be the fifth year that this festival will be carried out. Last year it was planned to start the festival on 15th July, however, the Israeli aggression on Lebanon put a stop to it. The organizers were already in the south making last minute preparations when the war broke out, and they had to evacuate the area under fire taking with them some refugees to the Institute in Brummana.

Preparation for this festival normally starts at the beginning of the year. An event of this size takes a lot of preparing for, from obtaining permission from the army, arranging accommodation, and arranging entertainment and other functions. This year it started in April due to the continuing uncertainty.

The army usually helps with providing a truck, camping equipment, and tents. The Shqaif (Beaufort) Municipalities Union, consisting of 28 municipalities, organizes the erection of the main tent which is 534m² in area and is 6 m high at the centre, 3 m high on the sides.

The Lebanese Army Band participating in the 2004 festival

This tent is located in the area of the land known as the “Rock Village” which is an area of rocky land which is earmarked for future development into housing units which will be used to house people with special needs.

At various stages during the festival various celebrities and personalities attend. Local scouts, army marching brigades, Arabic musicians, rock and rap stars, various municipality and local union officials etc. The organizers also arrange visits to local tourist attractions like the Beaufort castle, the Litani river, and even to the Lebanese/Israeli border.

Various activities taking place in the 2004 Welfare Wheat festival

Dancing to Massari

2007-04-04T13:28:00.003+02:00

Samira, Bassam and Mohsen dancing to Massari

Khalil strutting his stuff!!

2007-04-04T13:28:00.001+02:00

Watch a video of Khalil dancing to Haifa's music.

Mother's Day Celebration

2007-04-02T12:45:00.000+02:00

Last Thursday (29th March 2007) I had the privilege to attend a show presented by the residents of the Amal Institute for the Disabled. The show was organized by the staff to celebrate Mothers Day and give an opportunity for the parents and family of the disabled to visit with their kin, young and old, and see them dancing and acting in well rehearsed sketches.

The show was also attended by 95 year old Mrs. Mournira El Solh, the founder of the Institute. Nassib and his wife Hanan where also in attendance. The show lasted approximately 2 hours and was a complete success. At the end Hanan presented all the mothers with a single rose, and Mounira cut the celebration cakes on display. The food was plentiful and available for all to enjoy.

Carla

Elie & Zeinab

Khalil doing his Haifa imitation dance

The real Khalil

Carla delivering her speech of appreciation to the parents

Samira, Bassam and Mohsen

Mounira El Solh following proceedings

A mother helping out

Nisreen leading the choir in a song

Hanan giving out roses to mothers

Firas in contemplating mood

Mounira El Solh cutting a cake

A Visitors View

2007-03-27T21:33:00.000+02:00

At the invitation of my old friend Nassib Solh, who is a BHS Old Scholar, I visited the Amal Institute for the Disabled on Friday 16th March.

Nassib welcomed me to his house, next door to the Institute and introduced me to his wife Hanan. Amazingly Hanan immediately recognized my name and spoke as if she knew me, and my family. It soon transpired that she lived in the same street I had lived in as a kid in Damascus. Hanan Bdeir was my neighbour 45 years ago. She had left Damascus in 1968 and came to Lebanon. She went to AUB where she met Nassib.

After some breakfast and coffee Nassib and I made our way to the Institute where Nassib introduced me to Reva, his trusted assistant at the Institute.

Ibrahim from Tripoli with Nassib Solh

The Institute was founded in 1959 by Nassib’s mother, Mrs. Mounira Solh, to care for Nassib’s older brother Salim who was born disabled some years earlier, and who sadly passed away in 2001. Al Amal (Arabic for hope) Institute for the Disabled was the first centre to open in Lebanon and the entire Middle East for the mentally handicapped. Currently the institute has over 60 mentally handicapped adults residing at the centre in Brummana. Mrs. Mounira Solh, who is now 95, has passed on responsibility of the Institute to Nassib who is the Director General.

Mrs. Mounira El Solh, seated, founder of Al Amal Institute for the Disabled.
Nassib is far left

Visiting the Institute is a humbling experience. On the surface of it the place looks a bit like an orphanage for the handicapped, with young and old residents, however a more detailed look reveals the intricacies and the humanity of the Institute. Every resident has a specific task, or number of tasks, depending on their level of disability, to perform, and they know their jobs well. From running machines that weave the wool into sweaters, to the pressing machine. From collecting and cutting wood for heating to tending to gardens and plants. The Institute is run by Nassib and his small team of Assistants on a volunteer basis with modest facilities and limited office equipment.

Nassib and Assistant Reva

The main program at the Institute is the “Kanzat Al Shita” or “Winter Sweater” program. This is a vocational training program for manufacturing sweaters. Other vocational training programs include culinary, laundry, gardening and home-care training. Those who are potentially educable are placed in programs suitable for their level in reading, writing, mathematics, etc.

Firas from Zahle with Mona, Director of Winter Sweater Factory

Firas with Elie from Deir Al Ahmar

Firas, Elie, and Nisreen from Syria. In the back Sylvana with Ibrahim

The UNDP conference for People with Special Needs in Arab Countries in Cairo, May 2003, released that 12% of the population of Lebanon are either mentally handicapped, mentally ill or physically disabled, and that 80% of these live in rural areas and rely on charity while they can be trained to become productive.

In 2002 the Amal Institute for the Disabled celebrated their 10th Anniversary of the “Winter Sweater” program. In that period they produced 88,763 sweaters. These were sponsored by people from all over the world and donated to needy persons at 69 Welfare Centres spread all over Lebanon.

Staff and members of the Amal Institute for the Disabled meeting the President of Lebanon in 2005.
Presenting the President with a sweater marking the 100,000 sweater produced since 1992

The Welfare Centres are responsible for 16,461 orphans, 2,749 senior citizens, 1,674 people with special needs and 150 juvenile delinquents. They also employ 2,303 persons. A total of 23,337 people in need.

When South Lebanon was liberated in 2000 land belonging to the Solh family became available to the Amal Institute. This allowed the Institute to expand their “Winter Sweater” program to become the “Sweater and Wheat” program, and to start a new welfare program in South Lebanon. The program involves a partnership between Al-Amal Institute and people with special needs in rural areas of Lebanon.

People with special needs grow on their owned agricultural plots four kinds of crops: wheat, chickpeas, wide beans (foul), and lentils. These crops are suitable to grow in arid regions as they require no special irrigation, only minimal rain water.

The Amal Institute purchase all the crops grown, using funds obtained from sponsorship. The crops are processed and packed manually on their land with the help of volunteers. They are then distributed to Welfare Centres registered in the combined “Kanza wa Sunbula” (Sweater and Wheat) program. This cares for more than 23,000 needy persons all over Lebanon.

In addition to all this, the Institute organizes a variety of physical activities to motivate the students and help them appreciate the necessity of physical exercise. Other than swimming during the summer, the students follow during the whole year a program called “awareness and acceptance” that consists of integrating people with special needs with normal high school students through sporting activities. Students at the Institute have participated in the International Special Olympics three times.

Adnan from Beirut on one of the educational trips

The Institute also organizes nature activities for those special people encouraging them to appreciate the importance of environmental issues. In 1995 they planted 3000 trees on the Kneisseh mountain. Another BHS Old Scholar, Dina Azar, who was Miss Lebanon in 1995, also participated in that event.

The Institute also organizes guided tours for the students taking them around Lebanon and the Middle East to promote awareness of geography and history of Lebanon, and the Middle East. The Institute also welcomes and provides accommodation for special needs and normal people from other countries. This allows special needs people from different countries to interact and become acquainted with each other and learn from each other.

To learn more of the Amal Institute for the Disabled, they have a very basic website, http://www.alamalfordisabled.org.lb/, which provides more information.

After 3 hours talking to Nassib and visiting the Institute I left with a sense of great admiration and pride in what those special people can achieve. Nassib asked me if I can offer my help to help promote the work of the Institute, and I readily agreed to do all that I can.

Dujana from the Bika'a and Joe from Achrafieh