Nour al-Hafar, a 70-year-old woman, did not give up her career
Nour al-Hafar, a 70-year-old woman, did not give up her career
And unlike most women her age, who would prefer to stay at home and rest
Um Wassim, after a four-decade career, chose not to retire, but rather to continue working
Being a mother of two disabled children, Um Wassim decided to teach children with disabilities along with orphaned ones
The integration of orphaned and disabled children helps accept each other’s differences which reflect upon society in the future
Um Wassim was forcibly displaced from Aleppo, leaving behind her private school that accommodated 70 children with disabilities
Um Wassim arrived in the village of al-Jeineh in the western countryside of Aleppo to establish another one, to be later destroyed by the bombardment of the Syrian regime
Um Wassim, with greater intent and purpose, restored the school to gather her “children” around her once again
To provide them care, nurturing and support which they lost in the past due to the ongoing war
Um Wassim always waits for morning to come, and knock on the door of homes of children with disabilities
So do they… They wait for her to come eagerly
Those children are not going anywhere nor leaving home, but with her
Um Wassim, along with some volunteers, bring the children to school with them on foot
Tirelessly, hoping for God’s reward
With only hope that her school will open its doors throughout the day to give them everything she got
