Exceptional personalities are needed to move people and make a memorable mark. Hiba Al Sharfa is one of those exceptional people. Looking at her can give a glimps of her struggles and also her lifelong effort to become a teacher with down syndrome. She is making her mark by teaching students with the same disability in the West Bank of Palestine.
Living with struggles
People living in war torn and poor areas, are not aware of the problems faced by special-needs kids with Down syndrome and how to properly care of these kids. Nabeel Aljaneed is the director of the Right to Live Society a foundation which has enrolled 400 kids with Down syndrome to give them a productive lifestyle and a healthy connection with society. Al Sharfa is a former student of the foundation and is now teaching there.
Shining like a Star
Despite having the condition herself, Al Sharfa is teaching in the foundation. Perhaps because of this, she is better at understanding and connecting with her students and guiding them. She is a shining example of what the foundation aims at: incorporating children with Down syndrome with mainstream society.
The Right to Live Society is supported by Alwaleed Foundation, which works to provide facilities to students with Down syndrome so that they can live a successful life like everyone else. It also works to spread awareness among the people who are still quite unaware of many intricacies of the disability. There is still a lot to do in this area and Al Sharfa’s example has proven to be a positive step towards the goal.
Rising Above the Setbacks
This year another female Palestinian teacher became visible to the world as Hanan Al-Hroub was awarded with $1 million on the second annual Global Teacher Award ceremony. The prize was announced by Pope Francis and was given by Sheikh of Dubai.
Hanan and Al Sharfa have one thing in common and that is these two ladies has passion for teaching and an ability to adapt with the environment and bring a positive outcome.
This article was first published at http://mvslim.com