Paul Calvert spoke with Maha Ghareeb from Ma'an lil-Hayat, a project of the International Federation of L'Arche Communities

Maha: Yes and this was also one of the reasons why we chose to work with the wool. First we chose to have a workshop and to work with adults with mental disabilities, but then we were thinking what to do. We didn't want to do something that is done a lot in the area and so we heard about felt and we thought it will be very reasonable to help the farmers, because we are very close to the shepherd's fields and a lot of shepherds and a lot of sheep, but they do nothing with the wool. Long ago they used to do weaving or knitting, but nowadays no-one is using this wool, so most of the farmers throw it away. We are offering a reasonable income for the farmers when we buy the wool for them and do felt out of it.

Paul: How much wool do you get through?

Maha: It's about 100KG per month we use. In the beginning it was much less and we used to buy the wool from a mother of one of the disabled people who comes here, but lately because we are selling a lot and we are using more wool, the wool from the mother is not enough, so she is buying the wool from other farmers. She cleans it and we buy it from her cleaned.

Paul: Is it expensive to buy wool?

Maha: The wool itself is not expensive because no-one is buying it, so instead of throwing it, they sell it for very little price. The expensive part is washing the wool, because our land and our fields are not grass like in Europe or New Zealand. Our land is full of rocks and stones so it is very difficult to wash it. We pay one quarter of the amount for the wool and three quarters for washing it. Here at the workshop it is impossible and very difficult for us to clean it so the farmers clean it and we buy it from them ready to be felted.

Paul: Is the work that the adults are doing bringing them dignity?

Maha: Yes sure! You can see we have three main objectives: we have therapeutic objectives where the work itself raises the self esteem for people with disabilities; they let them feel that they are doing really reasonable work. We have social objectives: we encourage people to know more about their abilities and to use their abilities in different ways and become more aware of the needs of other people and to work as part of a team. We work with the assistants and also with the families as well on how to deal with their children and how to accept their children. Many families do not accept that they have a child with a disability. The third objective is where they get pocket money every week, so on Friday it is our pocket money day and this pocket money is saved here at the centre and each one has a wallet where they save their money. Then on occasions we go with them shopping and for example on mother's day, we go with them to buy the presents for the mothers, which is the first and only time for the mothers to have a present from their disabled child, from his work and from his own money, where he or she chose the present. Also their pocket money is used for buying new clothes and any needs they have we go to get it. We take it as a possibility to teach them how to use this money and how money is used.

Paul: It's very important to get the families engaging with there children as well.

Maha: Yes of course and we are working together, it's parallel with the families, because we cannot focus on something here and when the people go home then they are treated in another way. We should work together with the families and teach them how to continue what we do during the day. The families should continue and this relationship is through a notebook. There is a notebook we write every day to the family, what we did with their children and they write back what happened in the afternoon so that we communicate by this notebook. Also we call them now and then when it is necessary; when the notebook is not enough we make phone calls with the families and we make individual meetings with them and twice a year we have meetings with all the families.

Paul: It's good to engage with the families, but how easy is it to get these disabled people involved in the community as well?

Maha: As I mentioned, one thing is that we go shopping with them, so when people in the street and in the shops see people with disabilities, with the assistants, going for a walk, or going shopping, then it changes their idea of them. Last week we went for a picnic to the north, to Nablus. We went together with the families and it changes how people look at people with disabilities. Also we do lectures for the community, for example in March last year Jean Vanier who established L'Arche, who we are a part of, he visited Bethlehem and we invited people for a lecture that he gave and so many people and so many organisations, 450 people attended, which was really great! We didn't expect this amount of people to come. Also during that event we did a little sketch. People with disabilities, with their assistants did the sketch about the needs and about human fragility. It was a very nice sketch. The families even, didn't expect their children on stage speaking.

Paul: So it's breaking barriers?

Maha: Yes it is.

Paul: Do disabled people have a lot to give?