Wheelchairs for Jordan

In Al-Hussein Society for the Disabled, a team of experts gathers every day to produce artificial limbs and walking aids in the organizations very own workshop. Kareem Ziad alMufleh, 49 years old, carefully smoothes the surface of a plastic leg and examines it, his fingers searching for any imperfections. He measures and bolts in a metal rod using a special machine and screws it tight. After his meticulous work, artificial limbs, body and limb braces are lined up around the workshop. They are destined to facilitate the mobility of people with disabilities. The artificial limbs help ease their everyday struggle and provide them with more freedom and self-reliance. Since 1979 the non-governmental organization AlHussein Society (AHS) has worked in the field of physical challenges, focusing on the rehabilitation and education of the physically challenged in Jordan. AHS is also committed to promoting and self-guarding their rights. The societys workshop employs people with disabilities to help them to serve others in need.

The 200 wheelchairs delivered by ANERA were provided by Hope Haven, which also provided 584 other humanitarian aid items, including wheelchair parts and patient rehab items such as walkers, crutches, and canes. The wheelchairs are not haphazardly distributed. The beneficiaries disabilities are first diagnosed by our specialists, who later adjust the donated wheelchairs accordingly, explained Executive Director Annie Abu-Manna. For 20 years Kareem Ziad al-Mufleh has been producing artificial limbs for the physically disabled, he himself has Polio in one of his legs and has benefited from the societys rehabilitation programs and training. The donated wheelchairs have been a great help to Kareem, who was recently forced to do his job from a wheelchair after a hard fall three years ago broke his leg. His leg still has not healed but, thanks to the wheelchair, he has not stopped working.

Kareem is the only breadwinner for his wife and six children. Before now, he had struggled with a low-quality wheelchair, which did not help him cope with his disability but in fact became more of a burden to him. Many times it wouldnt fold and I was forced to place it in the back seat of the car as it was. Going out with the family on weekends was impossible because it occupied the whole seat, he explained. It wasnt well-built or easy to move and definitely couldnt withstand travelling a flight of stairs with me in it. It often needed maintenance, although it was relatively new. Kareem received his new wheelchair four months ago. He gracefully moves around the workshop in his ANERA-donated wheelchair. He is now able to move freely and smoothly and finally enjoy the weekends with his children and wife. When hes off work, Kareem likes to play with his two-and-a-half year old daughter, Malak, who enjoys climbing on his back. I needed a good wheelchair just to help me keep up with her playfulness and energy, he said kiddingly.

About ANERA For more than 40 years, ANERA has been a leading provider of development, health, education and employment programs to Palestinian communities and impoverished families throughout the Middle East. In FY 2010, the relief and development agency delivered more than $50 million of programs to the people of the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon and Jordan. Follow ANERA news on Facebook, Twitter, www.arabic.anera.org, www.anera.org