Sajida- defying disability

“My sister’s life has changed dramatically, now she can stand up by the wall and walk down the stairs on her own, but the most important thing is that she asks for her rights and she feels that she is an important individual both to this family and our commProgrammey.” This is how Batul, a 10-year old girl from Beit Sourik northwest of Jerusalem, describes the changes in Sajida’s life after receiving the services of the PRCS outreach rehabilitation programme specialists.

Batul continues, “My sister’s situation has improved significantly, she is much better than before. She can express herself and demand her rights just like any other member of the family.”
Thirteen-year old Sajida attends the 7th grade at the Beit Sourik Girls’ School and suffers from a number of speech and mobility disabilities. As part of the outreach rehabilitation programme at PRCS, over a period of 2 months, Sajida underwent a series of occupational, speech, and physiotherapy sessions and was given assistive devices as well.

Sajida’s therapy went beyond the physical level; she participated in numerous awareness and educational sessions that focused on disabilities and the rights of people with disabilities. These sessions helped uncover a unique personality capable of fighting for her rights and for the right to enjoy a decent life.
Despite her speech difficulties, Sajida persists saying that, “PRCS have helped me express myself very well, now I know that I have rights to claim at home, at school, and even on the street; now I fight for my right to exist.” She noted that now she is an active participant in her environment, she plays sports, uses the computer, she can stand up on her own next to a wall, and she can independently take on many tasks.
“Sajida’s personality has changed quite a lot” reiterated Kawthar Atiyyah the school headmistress, “she now knows she can speak up and demand her rights, she expresses herself boldly, directly asking for what she wants. One day she walked into my office and said that she had the right to use the computers just like any other student, and that we should find a way to get her to the third floor computer lab.”
Amal Khaled, one of Sajida’s classmates, says that “the PRCS team treated Sajida as a human being, and this is the most important thing, she is our friend and we love her,” signifying that the programme’s impact was not limited to Sajida but touched everyone around her.

Sajida’s classmate Hadeel Abed describes her friend saying, “I love Sajida a lot, we have been together since the 1st grade and I thank PRCS for helping her and now she is much better than before.”
Lisa Karajah, the team coordinator in the Jerusalem district, explained how the intervention with Sajida took place in three areas: physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, in addition to awareness and education. “A physiotherapist worked on her larger muscles needed for walking and movement, on how to stand up and do other tasks; the occupational therapist worked on fine muscles, holding a pen and her drawing skills; the speech therapist massaged her mouth area to control involuntary movements.” She also added that the awareness specialist worked with her on self -acceptance, her expression skills, her ability to demand her rights and her understanding as an individual with disabilities. PRCS specialists have also worked with her classmates, teachers, and parents for two months and on her integration in to numerous school and social activities.

The intervention with Sajida has been part of the outreach rehabilitation programme framework implemented by PRCS. Karajah and her colleagues have been working since 2009 in the north western and eastern districts of Jerusalem and Jericho with nearly 1300 cases. Around 14285 specialized rehabilitation sessions were carried out providing beneficiaries with around 210 assistive devices. Moreover, various open days and activities for raising awareness about disability and the rights of persons with disability were organized in many schools, where 5800 students benefited.

The programme, according to Suheir Badarneh- acting director of the Rehabilitation Programme at PRCS- is not limited to the Jerusalem and Jericho districts but has been continued in other programmes implemented in the West Bank and Gaza. “The programme that has been implemented in northern and eastern districts of Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Jordan Valley was supported by the European Union, and the government of Junta Castilla La Mancha in Spain through the Spanish Red Cross.

“The outreach rehabilitation programme was launched by PRCS after the beginning of the second Intifada, the erection of the wall and the checkpoints. It targets remote and marginalized districts whose residents have difficulty accessing and reaching urban centres easily,” continued Badarneh. She also added; “this

programme entailed seven outreach rehabilitation Programmes, working in the northern districts of the West Bank, Nablus and Jenin, as well as Hebron and Gaza, benefiting dozens of cases like Sajida and covered numerous sectors and specialities.”

Sajida may not have been able to visit PRCS rehabilitation centres in Ramallah and Jerusalem because of the wall and the checkpoints cutting her village off, but PRCS outreach rehabilitation teams reached her and changed her life bringing ease and fun to it and positively affecting her environment both at school and at home.