“People with disabilities can succeed if parents, schools and the community work together to create a positive environment that allows them to overcome their difficulties,” says Ali Samer Hussein’s mother.
Ali is a 13-year-old Palestine refugee living in Syria with a hearing impairment. For the last two years, Ali and his family have been living in Jaramana camp, after fleeing the violence near their home in al-Dukhaniyeh, in south-east Damascus. The eldest of two children, Ali was first diagnosed by UNRWA health services with hearing problems when he was two-and-a-half years old.
"Learning about his impairment was hard,” recalls his mother. “I was constantly worried that Ali’s hearing would deteriorate or disappear. Thanks to the early diagnosis and the hearing aids he received from UNRWA, his hearing has stabilized. Although his speech is sometimes hard to understand, he is able to communicate with us,” she adds.
Ali attends the Al-Amal School for Children with Disabilities. He plays with his peers and sings and records songs on his mother’s mobile phone. Despite his progress, Ali’s mother remains worried about his future. In Syria, living with a disability is not easy, as continuous access to the comprehensive care needed is difficult to come by and can be expensive. However, the UNRWA disability programme, supported by the European Union, has given Ali a chance for a new start.
Ali is one of the 2,932 Palestine refugees the Agency treated through its disability programme in 2015 alone. Linked to UNRWA health-care services, the programme ensures that Palestine refugees with disabilities receive medical assistance and are fitted with assistive devices such as hearing aids, prosthetics, wheel chairs and walking sticks.
The European Union has consistently supported resilience-building programmes for Palestine refugees in Syria. In the last three years, the EU has provided EUR 23.2 million (US$ 31.5 million) to fund the Agency’s activities in the country, including interventions seeking to help people living with injuries and disabilities to get back on their feet. This generous and solid partnership has played a vital role in bolstering the resilience of the Palestine refugees in Syria.