BLESSED

The Benevolent Lebanese Evangelical School for Special Education and Development

Ghabeh Street no. 62, Karm El-Zeitoun, Achrafieh, Beirut - Lebanon

Newsletter Dated 12 November 1999

Dear Friends of the Lebanese Evangelical School for the Blind,

The Lebanese Evangelical School for the Blind (formerly The British Syrian School for the Blind) was founded in 1868 by a dedicated group of people who devoted their lives for the service of blind people in this part of the world. Since its early beginnings the school worked very hard to serve and educate blind individuals, that they may live a happy, righteous, and respectful life.

Our objective is to assist blind people in following up their education, from school to university level. As for those who are not able to continue their education, we have different vocational programs. They can choose to learn a skill that will allow them to earn a living and thus be self-sufficient. All our students must learn Braille, both Arabic and English.

Our program includes: Braille, Music, Piano Tuning and Restoration, Massage, Cane-work, and Wool-knitting (machine). We are also hoping to equip our school with the necessary equipment to produce our Braille magazine that we distribute to blind people in our region. We also plan to make available to our students computers loaded with voice recognition software and connected to scanners. The computer will then read ordinary books to students, without the need for the long procedure of finding volunteers to record the material on tape. Students who are not able to type on a standard keyboard can also use the same system to dictate letters and documents. All can benefit from modern communications through email.

The ministry of Social Affairs supports us in funding the food and board cost of Lebanese students. The maximum number that is subsidized by the government is thirty.

We currently house twenty boarding students; six females and the rest are males. Their ages vary from twenty-two to forty-four years of age. Two are studying theology in a bible college near by, and the rest are following the vocational programs. All are learning Braille, both Arabic and English.

All faiths and denominations are represented among us: Maronite, Catholics, Orthodox, and Evangelical Christians; Druze, Sheaite, and Sunni Muslims.

Our students are mainly Lebanese, and we also have Syrian and Palestinian students. Most of our students come from poor families, and a few come from middle-class families.

A sad fact of our local life is that families who have a handicapped son or daughter tend to hide and isolate him/her from the community. We have to look for them. We try to locate them, then we visit them with a few of our students, and together we try to convince the blind person and his/her family of the value and importance of joining our school.

Through the year we take our students trips visiting places of historic significance or natural beauty. Beauty is not only in the eyes of the beholder. It can also be perceived and felt by a blind person when he/she is told what is around him/her.

We also train our students to be fully integrated in the community through field trips to supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, pharmacies, cinemas etc.

If you know of a blind person who is fifteen to twenty-five years of age, do not hesitate to contact us and inform us about him/her. Lebanese students are fully covered by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and we try to make funds available for students of other nationalities as the need arises.

We hope you will look at our needs list and find one project that you can assist us in implementing.

It is through the generous donations of kind individuals and benevolent institutions that we are able to develop new programs and assist our students with all their needs and requirements.

We value our friends and depend on them. We thank you for your interest in blind people and anticipate your kind support.

Sincerely,

George D. Haddad

Rev. George D. Haddad.