02/11/2015
Syrian refugee Dalal is seven years old. Born with cerebral palsy, which affects her speech and mobility, she arrived in Lebanon with her family in March 2012. On the day Sarah Pierre from Handicap International visited, Dalal received a wheelchair. With help from the NGO's staff and her family, Dalal was able to leave her family’s apartment for the first time in eighteen months. Humanitarian funding from the EU supports Handicap International working with Syrian refugees who need physical and psycho-social support.
Dalal, her three brothers and sisters, parents and the rest of her family live on the second floor of a building in a small town in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. To reach their apartment in the unfinished building where the family has taken refuge since March 2012, they have to climb a set of stairs. Because Dalal’s parents, her older sister and younger brother all have hearing impairments, most of the burden of supporting the family falls on her older brother and aunt.
“Things got much too dangerous for us in 2012, so we fled Syria,” explains Dalal’s mother, Hiba. “My husband was already working in Lebanon. I carried Dalal in my arms and my eldest son had to do all of the talking on the road to get us to Lebanon. The journey was exhausting.”
Dalal is given follow-up care by Mohammed, physiotherapist, and Zeinab, social worker – both working for Handicap International. “Dalal’s big brother was the one who got in touch with us,” said Zeinab. After meeting the little girl, the team decided to bring her a wheelchair so she could move around more easily.
“Today, we’re going to teach Dalal and her mother how to use the wheelchair. We’ll show them how to sit in it safety, and move around, but we’ll also show them how to do things like getting over small steps between rooms,” said Mohammed.
When Dalal sees her colourful new wheelchair for the first time, her face lights up with a huge grin. Dalal’s mother, Hiba, said this mobility aid will make life much easier. “Dalal can’t walk by herself. I have to carry her around a lot, and if I have to pick her up repeatedly, my back hurts“, she said.
“She’ll be more independent in her wheelchair and she’ll finally be able to play with the other children in the building again.” Dalal hasn’t left the building for a year and a half.
“I really worry about her. I’m worried she’s going to hurt herself falling because she can’t control her movements very well. I’ll feel a lot better now I know she’s in her wheelchair when she’s outside,” said her mother.
After some muscle-strengthening exercises, Mohammed helps Dalal sit up in the chair. She tries out her wheelchair for the first time in the living room, then the physiotherapist shows her how to push it: “I do this exercise because it’s a fun way of helping Dalal strengthen her leg muscles. Although the wheelchair will make her more independent and she can play with her friends, it’s also still really important to use her muscles by doing exercises, like standing up.”
As Dalal does her exercises, her mother and aunt Amina explain to me that the family’s children don’t go to school.
“We don’t have enough money to send the children to school. And schools aren’t adapted to the needs of Dalal or my youngest son. We had the same problem in Syria,” said Hiba. “My husband and oldest son work at the market to earn a bit of money. It’s not enough but it’s better than nothing,” she added.
“Our lives here are hard. I want a better life. But what I really want is for peace to return to my country so we can live there again in safety with our family,” said Amina, who hasn’t seen the rest of her family for more than two years.
Handicap International staff, Mohammed and Zeinab, show Hiba how to get her daughter’s wheelchair over the front doorstep and through the entrance. The family and Handicap International’s team then take Dalal outside – the first time she has left the family apartment in a year and a half.
“Dalal can use her wheelchair to go out and take part in all sorts of activities. It’s important to think about her mobility and her well-being,” said Mohammed.
Outside, Dalal is nervous, but soon she begins exploring her surroundings. “Well done, Dalal!” exclaims her grandmother and her grand-daughter’s face lights up.
It’s a big first step. Dalal has had a glimpse of life outside her home. It will help her not only to gain more confidence but a new sense of independence, of joining in her family’s daily activities and starting to take her place back in society.