Location: Jerusalem, Holy Land
Director: Suad Younan
Founded 1954
How
it all started
This school, in the north of
Jerusalem, owes its foundation to Mary Lovell, an English missionary who
opened the first home for blind girls in the country, in the late 1890s.
Mary Lovell devised the Arabic Braille system that is now used throughout
the Arabic speaking world, and transcribed the Bible into Arabic Braille
for the first time. When she died in 1932, some of her pupils continued
her work, opening the Lovell Homes for the Blind in Jerusalem and
Bethlehem.
During the Second World War, a British soldier named Bob Clothier was stationed in Jerusalem, where he became involved in the support of this home for blind children. On his return to England, he founded the Lovell Society to help raise funds and awareness for the work. He contacted the Bible Lands Missions Aid Society (as BibleLands was then known), who through the Lovell Society were soon supporting the Lovell Homes in Palestine. By the late 1940s, the BLMAS had incorporated the Lovell Society into its work and, within a few years of his return to England, Bob Clothier was the Secretary of the BLMAS, remaining so until 1985.
Dr Helen Keller visited the School during a trip to Israel in 1952, when she was so impressed with the work that she gladly agreed to her name being used. The Helen Keller House in Jerusalem was opened by BibleLands in 1960, and has been almost wholly funded by BibleLands ever since.
Current activities
Now called the Helen Keller Centre for the Visually Impaired, the school is
nationally recognised for its excellence in serving the needs of blind
children. Pupils receive a holistic education, caring for all aspects of
the child across medical, psychological, social and educational needs.
Education: Around 70 children, aged from 3–18 years, study at the Centre, and an outreach programme helps a further 15 students in mainstream schools. The Centre aims to give an all-round education that answers the needs of the individual pupils. The classes are small, allowing the teachers to spend more time helping each child to achieve their potential. The Centre teaches all the usual subjects, including Arabic Braille, with an emphasis on mainstreaming and comprehensive educational programmes for pupils in academic subjects. Pupils are also given training in mobility, which allows them much greater freedom, and advice in career planning.
Mainstreaming: A number of students from the Centre study in mainstream schools in order to gain secondary and higher education. Those who do not go to secondary school are given the opportunity to learn vocational skills.
Residential section: Up to 20 children, who have a long way to travel each day, are able to board at the school, where they are looked after by care staff who provide for their welfare and social needs.
Computer literacy: This is a very important skill which allows visually impaired young people to pursue career opportunities that were previously thought impossible. The Centre has special computers that can talk and print in Braille, as well as talking calculators and typewriters.
Additional Programmes: At the Centre’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations, in 2004, some of the children performed on bicycles, skates and balance beams, just like their sighted peers. The Centre has a training programme for university students studying Social Work and Special Education, and also runs summer camps each year, providing blind and partially sighted children with the opportunity to meet and get to know other students.
Not all the children are able to reach the same academic standards. Some have additional physical and mental disabilities, which limit their progress. To assist with the additional needs of these particular students, the Centre regularly co-operates with specialist diagnostic and rehabilitation centres in Jerusalem, many of whom are also BibleLands’ Project Partners.
The Centre has had to face a number of challenges recently, due to current events in Jerusalem. The relocation of an Israeli military checkpoint to a position directly outside the Centre’s front gate has made access to the Centre for all the children, workers, parents and visitors very difficult. A new electric gate has been constructed in a different part of the Centre grounds to help alleviate this problem. However, despite these difficulties, the dedication of the staff remains high, and the care and education of the children is second to none.
