Welcome to our Winter Newsletter.
The articles you find within will give you a little idea of some of the events and developments at AHS.
This academic year we have one hundred students in the school and have opened up an extra Grade One class. The occupational therapy, physiotherapy and psycho/social therapy departments continue to serve their needs, as well as those of the EIP and the wider community.
We have exciting developments in the Orthotics workshop which you can read more about inside. Please note that our annual Winter Bazaar will be held on Saturday December 15 at Le Royal Hotel. Thank you for your continued support which contributes greatly to the work of Al Hussein Society.
Emans Story
We would like to tell you about 13 year old Eman Abdullah who has been at the Al Hussein Society for six years. Over the years Eman could be seen smilingly walking along the corridors between her lessons or physiotherapy sessions assisted by specially designed braces, but recently Eman developed deformities in her spine and lower limbs which prevented her independent mobility.
Surgery was the only answer if Eman was to walk again, however this would be very risky as she has a ‘kidney filter” which renders surgery dangerous. Her parents refused surgery and were resigned to Eman never walking again However, the AHS team, determined that she should walk, set about procuring a new, highly sophisticated and expensive brace.
With the encouragement and cooperation of the directors of Orthopedic and Physical Rehabilitation Departments at the Ministry of Health our team relentlessly pursued a new brace for Eman. Our Orthopedic Dept realized that the brace required special knee joints that were not available at the centre. Not to be deterred, they went back to the Ministry of Health who were able to provide us with the specialized knee joints.
The team worked for 50 hours preparing a plaster bandage cast modified to Emans requirements. You cannot imagine our surprise and pleasure to not only see her stand once more, but also take a few faltering steps. A further 20 hours work, and the brace was ready. With hard work from Eman and the physiotherapists we will soon see her walking independently through the centre once more.
(This account was prepared by our specialized team who wanted to express the joy and satisfaction they experience in their work at AHS.)
King Abdullah and Queen Rania visit AHS
Jubilation and excitement filled hallways and departments as Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania arrived to visit our centre and officially open the Specialized Training facility donated by the Bdeir Family. Their Royal Highnesses Prince Raad Zeid and Princess Majda Raad greeted Their Majesties, along with our director Annie Abu Hanna, Minister of Social Development, Dr. Suleiman Tarawneh, other officials and members of the AHS board. They then accompanied them on a tour of the centre.
First stop for the King and Queen was the Early Intervention Programme (EIP) where they observed a regular clinic session with our very youngest outpatients. Princess Majda explained that in the EIP the needs of physically challenged infants are addressed from day one, preventing further complications by training parents in the appropriate therapy.
As Their Majesties toured the centre they watched a variety of occupational, physio and psycho/social therapy sessions, in action, and then moved on to delight students in the school section Our purpose was to demonstrate a “regular day at AHS” and so they saw our students working in Arabic, IT, music, sports and other lessons. The King and Queen interacted with great warmth and were impressed by the ability and confidence of the students.
Princess Majda briefed our guests on the important contribution of AVSI and UNDP to the facilities and activities of the new Specialized Training section, which will provide training for professionals in Jordan and the Middle East. Ladies in KENZ displayed their sewing skills and a variety of costumes they produce for children, before the party moved on to the Orthotics Workshop. Their Majesties were extremely impressed with the high standard of orthotics and prostheses produced by our professionals, which benefit not only our students at the centre, but also have a high demand in the rest of the country. This is due to the great contribution of the Christo fel Blinden Mission whose financial aid and expertise in training, over more than ten years, has been invaluable.
An hour after their arrival King Abdullah and Queen Rania bid the centre farewell expressing their great pride in the work of AHS. Their Majesties instructed the Royal Hashemite Court to carry out a complete maintenance of the society including painting the premises, and also to connect all AHS departments to the internet.
We are grateful for their generosity, both in kind and of time, and look forward to their continued support in the development of the centre.
A Closed Door can be opened
Seven students, the director and three teachers travelled to Turkey in April to participate in the Smiling Child Festival, for students with special needs. This was the first time that students from our centre have participated in such an event and the benefits proved to be enormous. Our children developed a sense of responsibility and self reliance; learned time management and the importance of punctuality; and were exposed to a variety of different cultures from the 20 other participating countries as well as expressing loyalty for their own country, Jordan.
The children performed their play, Closed Door, which examines the challenges our students often face when they embark on integration in the public school system. 
However, the story concludes that with determination and the support system developed by AHS, a closed door can be opened. Simultaneous translation was displayed on a large screen so that the audience could follow the play, and the actors were commended on their performance of the music and song.
All the participants took part in a 2 kilometre “walk” singing national songs and raising awareness of the festival; a documentary film was aired about Jordan’s tourist sites and we also had a special table to display Jordanian products. All the representatives of AHS believed that their experience at the festival was invaluable in numerous ways, and look forward to further opportunities to exchange ideas with people of other cultures.
Collaboration continues
Al Hussein Society continues its longstanding relationship with Rotary Clubs in a new project which will benefit both amputees in Basra, Iraq and Jordanians who need new prostheses. Financed and sponsored by several clubs in the USA and the Amman Cosmopolitan Rotary Club, the latest state-of-the-art equipment for the manufacture of prostheses, will soon arrive at our Orthotics Workshop. AHS technicians will train Iraqi Ministry of Health doctors in the use of the equipment which will greatly enhance the quality of prostheses made at our centre.
Hi there! My name is Austin Whitney. I am 18, an active athlete, student, and also a new paraplegic. I just graduated from high school in June, and was supposed to be attending the University of Michigan this fall. However on July 21st I was in a bad car accident that severed my spinal cord and left me permanently in a wheelchair, with no sensation or movement from the waist down. I now attend my local community college and am on my way to attending UC Santa Barbara in January. I am so excited for that. I also am speaking at almost two dozen high schools throughout Southern California. I talk about my accident, the mistaken belief many teenagers have in their own invincibility, the choices I made that led to my accident, and the horrible dangers high school students face. I also speak about my recovery and the many lessons I learned about attitude in the 41 days I spent in hospitals this summer. I also talk about wheelchair awareness, as I never knew anyone in a wheelchair before my accident, and I seek to clear up any confusion about handicapped living. One aspect of wheelchair awareness that gives my accident meaning for me has been raising money for the Wheelchair Foundation. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the organization, they send wheelchairs to people around the world who are in desperate need. Current estimates say between 30 and 100 million people are constrained by mobility limitations and would benefit from a wheelchair. You know, six months ago I had never heard of the Wheelchair Foundation, and I could never have imagined the value of a wheelchair. With one, I can be completely independent and a full contributor to society. Without one, I would be constrained to a bed for the rest of my life. My life expectancy is the same as yours, but currently the average life span of a paraplegic like me in a third world country is just three years! A wheelchair is truly a liberator and it gave me my life back. The amazing thing is it only takes $150.00 to send a wheelchair to a developing country and thus give someone back the basic right of mobility. This is a way you can really change the world for someone less fortunate. I have gotten in touch with the Wheelchair Foundation and am trying to raise money to buy as many wheelchairs as possible. My goal was to raise $3,000 before I go off to school in January. I reached that goal recently, so now I am trying to raise $10,000 or 130 wheelchairs! If you are interested in donating, please see their website. Thank you so much for your support. Austin Whitney
When Tyson Elementary Gifted and Talented teacher Cathy Crouch got the idea to do a fundraiser for the international Wheelchair Foundation last year, she hoped that each grade at the school would raise at least $75. The Tigers ended up raising over $5,000 enough to purchase 33 wheelchairs what would be sent to the disabled in Mexico. So when Crouch began planning this years wheelchair fundraiser, she knew that the sky was the limit. Even so, Tyson students managed to exceed her expectations. “My goal this year was to be able to buy at least as many wheelchairs as we did last year”, says Crouch. This year they raised enough to buy ninety-five wheelchairs. Enough to buy ninety-five wheelchairs equates to roughly $7000. Each wheelchair costs $150, but the International Wheelchair Foundation matches every $75 raised with another $75. So for every $75 students at Tyson raised, a wheelchair was gained. While she still incorporated economics into the fundraising effort, Crouch took a different approach to the project this year. “It was different because we didnt sell anything. We focused on human capital”, says Crouch. Human capital involves the valuable things everyone has to offer that don’t cost anything like knowledge and acts of service. The best thing was that they learned from adults is that they have to work to make money. This time they couldnt just ask grandma. What’s great is that income level was not a factor in this project. Students who wanted to do it found a way. Acts of service are what the Tigers utilized when they went to work to raise money for the Wheelchair Foundation. Students cleaned bathrooms, raked leaves, took out the trash anything for a little cash to go towards purchasing a wheelchair. “Even though you’re giving stuff away youre gaining something”, says Stephanie Grace, a Tyson fifth-grader. “It’s just knowing that you helped someone, and youre gaining self-respect”. Natasha Raezer, another fifth-grader added, “Plus parents are happy because they have a clean bathroom”. Also, to prepare for the fundraising effort, Tyson GT students created display boards detailing the problem, alternate solutions and the options available for accomplishing their money-raising goals. As a reward for their efforts, students who raised any money at all got their name on the front of the stage in the cafeteria. Students and teachers who raised $75 or more got their names placed on the wall in one of the schools hallways. In addition to the money raised by the Tigers, Tyson Foods donated $400 dollars towards the cause and Weyerhaeuser gave $300. To celebrate the remarkable fundraising effort, the entire student body along with many parents recently walked to Tyson Cooperate headquarters where they were presented with the checks from Tyson and Weyerhaeuser. Another $500 was added when Crouch won an award for an economics fair project. “I told my students, ok, if we win this Im going to donate the $500 prize to the Wheelchair Foundation”, says Crouch. The recipients of the wheelchairs in Mexico are hand-picked by the international Wheelchair Foundation as those who have the most need of a chair and no way of getting one. “Before they receive the wheelchairs many of them can only get around by crawling or having someone carry them”, says Crouch, who traveled to Mexico last year to deliver the chairs. Another touching aspect of the project is that chairs can be dedicated to someone special. During last years Wheelchair Foundation fundraiser at Tyson, a chair was dedicated to one of the school’s students who was killed in a four-wheeler accident. As a follow up to the fundraiser, Crouch talked with students about the character traits they learned from the project. The most important thing the Tigers learned was service above self, which also happens to be Rotarys motto. The Tyson Tigers are always “Roaring With Pride”, but during this years Wheelchair Foundation Fundraiser, they were “Rolling With Pride”. Raising enough money to change the lives of nearly 100 disabled people is definitely something to be proud of.
April 2007 marked several historic events for the Knights of Columbus wheelchair distribution program. 
During a recent trip to Hong Kong to attend the ERA 2007 Asia Conference, eighteen ERA members, staff and family spent a very wet day on a bus traveling to the city of Guangzhou to participate in a wheelchair distribution.