"Hope for the Disabled” at the BA
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Alexandria—
The BA witnessed on Thursday, 9 October 2008, an event entitled "Hope for the Disabled”, hosting Nick Vujicic, one of the most inspiring models in challenging disability in the world. Nick was able to continue his education and gain the confidence of his work colleagues, despite the loss of his arms and legs.
The event was organized by the Village of Hope for Development and Rehabilitation of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, chaired by Ms. Nada Thabet. Attendees were General Adel Labib, Governor of Alexandria; HE Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa, UN Special Rapporteur on Disability at the UN Social Development Committee; and Ambassador Hagar Islambouly, BA Head of External Relations, along with a group of leaders of social work, intellectuals, and members of several associations working in the field of disability and human rights in Egypt and the Arab World.
Nick Vujicic gave an inspiring speech, in which he said “I came to you today to revive hope and love in your hearts…life is meaningless without a goal, and if we lose hope, we lose the ability to live". He added that he found his greatest goal in life, granted to him by God, which is to spread love among people, to revive hope in their lives, and to support them change for the better.
Nick maintained that all human beings have some sort of disability, and he gave example of fear, which could be worse than losing one’s limbs; fear can paralyze oneself and stop him/her from achieving his/her goals in life.
He added that Egypt has advanced in the area of caring for disabled, and pointed out that changing laws is not everything, and what needs to be changed is the feelings of people and their perceptions of the disabled. He concluded that the disabled need to integrate into the society and to recognize their potential and abilities. At the end of his speech, he announced the launch of the Arabic version of his website:
www.lifewithoutlimbs.com within six months.
In the same context, the event presented other successful Egyptian models, who managed to overcome their disability and succeed in various fields. They include: Ahmed Hakim Ibrahim, who works as a calligrapher despite the loss of his arms; Sherifa Masoud Sheheta, who works as a journalist and is preparing her PHD in Psychology, despite her blindness; Sarah Ezzat, a plastic artist who suffers from deafness; Ghada Mahmoud Ahmed, who has a bachelor degree in history from the Faculty of Arts, despite the loss of her arms; Alaa El-Din Abbas, an artist who draws portraits and is deaf; Ali Ahmed Khalil, who has brain paralysis and succeeded in obtaining a bachelor degree in Law and is preparing his masters; Mohammed Amr El-Sawy and Yosra Ahmed Abdel-Latif, who won gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the disabled.
A group of disabled from the Village of Hope in Alexandria also presented an operetta entitled “Innocence and Tenderness”, followed by a lecture entitled “Rights of people with disability..Reality vs. Law” delivered by Dr. Alaa Sebeh, Program and Advocacy Manager “Save the Children UK”.