Omar lives with his elderly parents and three sisters in Ajoul village to the north of Ramallah. Almost ten years ago his mom brought him to get enrolled at Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center. His mom explained that Omar had a severe intellectual disability, and was not able to talk or make a simple conversation. He had no daily life skills at all and could not take care of his most basic needs. At that time his mom said he was diagnosed with a dis-functioning thyroid gland and had to take medication for it as well as for the nervous system.
The specialists at Star Mountain made an assessment of Omar and developed an individual plan for him. To everyone’s surprise, Omar’s diagnosis was not correct. This became obvious after a few months of work with Omar.
Initially, Omar was referred to the MoH by SMRC speech therapist to make a simple operation on the tongue that allowed him to start talking.
The team put in an intensive plan for Omar to work on his daily life skills as well as his academic knowledge.
The Psychosocial specialist found out that he was also subject to sexual molestation as he used to spend most of his time on the streets. The team worked intensively with Omar to teach him how to protect himself as well as build his self-confidence. In a couple of years, Omar became a member of the Child Protection Network advocating for the rights of children with disabilities to education.
Omar also became a member of Star Mountain’s acrobatic and traditional dance teams.
When Omar became 14 years old it was time for him to leave the school and move to the vocational training program. There he received training in housekeeping, farming, cooking and using public transport, and buying his essential needs. Omar’s performance was outstanding throughout his years at SMRC. Three months before becoming 18 Star Mountain Center found him a training opportunity at a sanitary paper factory. Omar now has been an official employee since the beginning of 2023.
His dream of finding a job and earning a living to help his family has become true.