“I wish to go to the medical school in the future and be a doctor”, says Amera Mohammad Salah, a 12 year old girl in 6th grade of the Hope Flowers School.
Amera is not an ordinary pupil: she was born with a gap in her spine which dislocated her left hip. For this reason, her childhood years were very different from the other kids in her surrounding. She was never able to walk normally.
Hope Flowers School offers special boarding facilities for disabled children like Amera, who cannot walk on their own or use public transportation to get to school. It is the school’s vision that every person with or without disabilities should have equal opportunities and should get the support that is needed to fully participate in society.
Amera’s disability did not stop her from trying to play along with the other kids as best she could. She loves football and tennis, and she wishes that Hope Flowers will one day be able to provide sports facilities for the students. “It bothers me when I see other kids walk normally while I cannot walk like them. Sometime I become annoyed because of my situation. I become sad when I see my friends and how they can walk. But I will succeed in school and be a doctor, and will be happy”.
Amera’s family, though suffering from the economic difficulties like so many families in al-Khader, is currently trying to arrange for surgery that they hope will improve her walking ability.
“Amera is a dedicated student and determined to achieve her ambition and goals in life”, her teacher Mona says. It is through the constant encouragement from her teachers and her own strong personality that Amera will no doubt get there one day.