The
School of Joy was founded by Randa AbuSada in 1993 in Beit Sahour, the town of the shepherds,
just few miles from the birth place of our savior Jesus (Nativity Church
- Bethlehem). The school was founded to improve the
overall quality of life for students who have low academic achievement
in greater Bethlehem area.
The
prevailing harsh political and economical situation our area is going
through has affected almost every member of our community and specially
the children and young people. An increasing number of children are
dropping out off schools and heading for the streets, specially those
ones who suffer from low academic achievements and are coming from poor
families. Noticing the alarming numbers of dropout children roaming
the streets and in response to the requests from the distraught parents,
The school was started for the children with special
needs and for the poor/orphan children. He has recruited 6 teachers,
who are receiving less than half of the normal salary, and furnished
the school with the needed disks, chairs, and equipments. The school
relies mainly on the generous donations from the local and international
communities, in addition to the small amount of fees collected from
some of the students who can pay.
The
School of Joy now serves 51 children between 6-14 years old, and seven
youth between 16-23 years old. The School is considered their home offering
its services to poor, orphan children, and also children with learning
difficulties without regard to race, religion or color. And there are
continual requests to take more students. There is a waiting list of
at least 50 further "at risk" children which.
Also many of the children served
at this school suffer from a low academic achievement that is due to
a Minimal brain damage, bad home environment or bad schooling, Children
with minimal brain damage include those who have Dyslexia, Right Hemisphere,
Learning Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder and other.
Our
Mission is to rehabilitate mentally disabled and emotionally distorted
children by preparing them for greater self-sufficiency and independent
living, and to make them productive 
members of the society. Since we
started we have been working on the ethical and human rights for these
children, so that they can live a better life as human beings. One of
the things we appreciate is to protect the child from being in the streets.
Signs of support and sympathy must be shown, in order to give the child
his right in education.
The
school consists of several class rooms for teaching in addition to several
workshops for vocational training and Olive Wood carving. The school
also provides some internal and external facilities for children to
play. The school provides the children with transportation to and from
school.
The
Aims of the School:
- To prevent deterioration of the problem of street
children.
- To provide the children with schooling appropriate
to their needs and to enable them to catch up so that they can return
to the normal school routine as soon as possible.
- To improve quality of life
for pupils who have Low academic achievement in greater Bethlehem
region.
- To prevent the growth of a
population of Palestinian street children.
- To provide a safe environment
for children who have dropped out from normal schooling and to enable
them to continue their education in anticipation of returning to normal
school in the near future.
- Accepting difference as ordinary, and not an
excuse to dismiss, reject or ridicule. To give opportunity to disabled
people getting the full and effective education they need.
