Community Based Rehabilitation
Every child who comes to the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) center in Jordan brings their own unique gifts, personality, and life to our work. As much as we want to grow their potential in areas where they experience challenges, we also want to encourage their potential in the areas where they express joy and talent.
Imani first came to our center in 2018 as a young teenage girl with a hearing disability, with the goal of improving her speech. However, we soon discovered that she had a natural talent and love for art. Her notebook was filled with pencil sketches and coloured drawings. One of the Operation Mercy staff members also shares a love of art, and so from the beginning it was decided that they would have one session every couple of weeks to develop Imani’s skills in both drawing and painting. Over the months, Imani learned and practised mixing colours, as well as how to paint skies and other scenes from nature—often the two of them sitting side by side, painting together at the center.
Now, several years later, Imani is a student at the University of Jordan, studying art. Recently, she reached out to us, asking if there was something she could do at the center while on a break between semesters. In fact, we had yet to finish the murals on the outer walls of the center facing the village street. And so, once again, Imani and the CBR team member mixed colours together and painted. This time, though, they painted words—sharing colour and hopeful messages with the community.
For all of us, it was encouraging to see this quiet teen now turned into a confident and talkative university student. It was a reminder that as we walk through small steps of growth with our students, these small steps can lead to a more hopeful future for them.
Partnerships for Good
He now has a stable home for him and his family and is walking on his “new” foot.
Sing Hello
“Fahid, it is your turn to sing!” Our volunteers encourage and then, with a little bit of prompting, Fahid begins to sing for us.
The View Changes
After a couple of sessions on the back of a gentle horse, Jamal now rides with a smile on his face.
A Community United for Mubariz
As part of our partner’s project on accessibility, the team launched a district-wide assessment in Rudaki. Here they met a teacher who was homeschooling a 9-year-old boy named Mubariz,
Empowering Mothers
“It is so important that you know your rights!”
Training for Local Health Care Professionals
Kangaroo care and skin to skin contact between mother and newborn baby – these are vital practices unheard of in the local Kazakh neonatology hospitals.
Opening Doors to Equality
Children with disabilities (CWD) are being given the chance to learn at mainstream schools thanks to one of our partner organisations in Tajikistan.
School accessibility is one of the most important components of providing inclusive education and promotion of the rights of children with disabilities.
A New Chair
She really enjoyed her new chair and even after this very short time, it was recognisable that her body posture had already been improved.
Full Participation at School
In the summer, our organisation received a request to build a ramp and an accessible toilet at this school to allow the school to accept children with disabilities so that they could socialise and study with their peers.
New Found Confidence
During the last couple of weeks, Ahmed’s gait and posture have significantly improved.
Local Partnerships to Maximise Capacity
When a massive flood hit the North West of the country, our team was able to visit and make connections with families and centres with children with disabilities.
Partnership Opens the Way to School
There are many barriers for a child with disability to access education in Tajikistan. Sometimes this barrier is seen in the attitudes of people that think children with disabilities don’t belong in school or should be kept separate from other children.
Don’t Give Up, There Is Still Hope
After a year of working with her, she is now able to feed herself, shower independently and help with cleaning around the house! When we first started working with her,
Changing the Trajectory
Danior used to be angry all the time. He was quick to attack and hit the other kids at the children’s home. He had reasons to be angry –
Each Child is Valuable
“I’ve learnt from you that each child is created by God and valuable, and I want to do my best to love and raise her like you would” she said
Truth Boost
In spring 2023 we partnered with another NGO. Their local staff were running a centre in the old city for children with learning disabilities.
They wanted to integrate children with physical disabilities and asked our physical therapist (PT) and our occupational therapist (OT) to work specifically with these children.
Standing Strong
Farhad is a bright seven-year-old and the third child in his family. However, unlike his siblings, he has faced significant challenges since birth due to Cerebral Palsy,
Promoting Inclusion
An annual conference for mainstream school teachers and school transition support services helped promote inclusion in local communities.
Amina, a young girl with speech and cognitive delays,
First Aid Training Programme
After living in Central Asia for a year and engaging closely with the local community, I noticed a significant gap in health knowledge. Many people would quickly panic in medical situations simply because they did not know how to respond.
Healing and Growth
During a wedding in a small local village a large fire broke out!