Assist kids with hearing disabilities in Palestine

Dear donors,

for over 50 years the Effetà Institute in Bethlehem has been educating, rehabilitating and taking care of hearing-impaired children, allowing them to face social challenges with the awareness that deafness is not an obstacle to their future. In recent months, however, the institute has been going through a period of serious difficulty.

The situation in Bethlehem has never been so complicated: the events linked to the war in the Gaza Strip are generating a negative impact on the Palestinian population and the country's economy is facing a crisis. Since October 7th, almost all the students who attend the Effetà Institute have not left their homes. Courageously, the school reopened its doors after 20 days of forced closure due to the outbreak of the war, but unfortunately, only a few children can reach the institute and attend lessons. Most of them live far away and cannot move around as it is risky to walk the streets and cross checkpoints. Lessons continue online, but for hearing-impaired children, progress is more difficult to achieve as they need to see the movement of the lips, facial expressions and dexterity of the speaker to facilitate understanding. Many have asked to sleep at school, even on the floor, to not miss the possibility of learning and experiencing daily life with their classmates.

A year ago, there were already many problems, but in the last few months, the situation has worsened. Families are struggling and can no longer afford to pay school fees. Many workers' permits were revoked and various businesses were forced to close. The sense of fear and bewilderment is strong. For this reason, Effetà Institute provides families with a social assistance desk not only to deal with the deafness of their children but also to manage the economic and working difficulties caused by the war.

In Arabic, the word "Effetà" means "openness". It goes beyond barriers and physical boundaries, an openness linked to acceptance, inclusion and equality. Now more than ever, your support is essential to give hope to the children who attend the Effetà Institute and their families!

Dear Donors,

today – 9th October 2023 – Effetà Institute in Bethlehem is closed. On Saturday morning 7^th October more than 3.000 rockets coming from Gaza Strip had been launched by Hamas and had hit different Israeli cities. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that the country is “at war” and a new conflict between Israel and Hamas has started.

During these days of violence and fear, our thoughts and commitment go to all the children that attend lessons in our local partner Institute in Bethlehem. The school was founded in 1971 and 24 students had the opportunity to start an audio-phonetic recovery program. Since that year, the Institute allowed a lot of children with hearing disabilities to receive education and support, even in less peaceful moments. Through speech therapy children can improve their competences and skills that increase their autonomy, independence and freedom, going beyond prejudices and discriminations. At school students also learn foreign languages and at the end of the year they can correctly speak English and Arabic.

Lessons restarted on the 23^rd of August after the summer break, a new school year has begun and it seems more challenging than expected. The school is a reference point for the whole local community and we are absolutely aware of its importance: a child with deafness could face learning and socialization problems that with the time could become social, psychological and economic difficulties. That’s why the role of the school and of rehabilitation is so fundamental!

Our support to Effetà Institute never stops and also to your help we are strongly committed in promoting children rights. Our wish is that peace may always prevail!

Thank you!