Palestine-Gaza group marks thirty years of service to deaf community

Location: Al-Nasr District – Gaza – Palestine

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:05:17

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Gaza

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 25/07/2022

Storyline:

In the middle-class Al-Nasr District, a crafts bazaar showcases the impact of thirty years of activities by a group of Gaza women determined to educate their deaf children left behind by existing Palestinian and international organizations.

Founded in 1992, the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children educates 250 deaf children. It serves more than 5,000 hard-of-hearing people and their families annually.

This week’s bazaar features products made by the hearing impaired. It helps fund the group’s speech pathology, clinical audiology, and community outreach work.

Like 40% of Atfaluna’s staff, Hashem Abdullah Ghazal, the Director of the Carpentry and Technical Work Hashem Abdullah Ghazal, is hearing impaired. Ghazal told A24 that the pieces on display are each unique and incorporate elements of traditional Palestinian crafts.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Sharhabeel Al-Za’i – Chairman of Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children)

“Atfaluna was established to support a marginalized group, that is deaf children. We worked hard on providing psychological support to the deaf, enabling them to produce artistic handicrafts that rival the best and finest, as they are a mix of traditional and modern.”

– Soundbite (Hashem Abdullah Ghazal (Deaf and Director of the Carpentry and Technical Work at Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children):

“Our handmade products are unique and diverse with traditional elements. The organization will use proceeds from selling these products to support the deaf. I ask citizens to come and visit our bazaar to support the deaf and their products.”

– Soundbite (Sumaya Al-Rantissi – Special needs, works in embroidery in Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children + Ehab Al-Madhun – Interpreter for interviews with deaf):

“I am happy to be here with the Atfaluna organization. We have made huge progress in comparison to before, because we are able today to learn and integrate, we are able to demand our rights through our traditional handicrafts and Palestinian embroideries. We added modern touches to these traditional products to make their designs more beautiful and elegant.”

– Soundbite (Hani Farah – Visitor in the bazaar):

“The products displayed in the bazaar are very well made, anyone would be more than happy to have them in their home. The sizes of the products are diverse and meet the preferences of all. I want to express my thanks and appreciation to the people who made these products, I wish them the best.”