Ephpheta School for the Deaf in Bethlehem invited us to the blessing of their new playground. This school was started in 1971 as a result of a visit made in 1964 by Pope John Paul VI. It is run by 8 nuns. They begin teaching children and families when the deaf child is 1 year old. Sometimes families, especially fathers, withdraw from the deaf child, so they are taught 2 times/week how to accept and communicate with the deaf child. The word ephpheta in Arabic means "be open"-open mouth, hearts, etc. to communicate with each other. There are 168 students who are taught lip reading rather than sign language. Twenty students stay at the school, the others come each day. Those who stay must return home each week to maintain relationships with their families. The nuns do a terrific job and are vey nice to us. We have helped them with school kits and grants.
This is a group of some of the younger students, with part of the new playground behind them.
After a lot of talks in Italian and Arabic, and a blessing pronounced and then sealed with a sprinkling of holy water, the Monsignor cut the ribbon. Sister Piere, with one of the students, is looking on.
The Monsignor was very kind to us. As he was inspecting the playgrounds, he stopped to ask about us and our purpose in being there. We said the Jerusalem Center students have assembled and donated school kits.
After the ceremony and playground inspection, we were invited to a luncheon.
Most of the nuns don't speak English, so Doris Skafi (social worker at the school) and Jane (accountant) were assigned to be with us. Doris has worked at the school for 20 years, and Jane a little less.
We talked with the engineer of the playground, Bassim Marzouga, and his wife Huda Shamieh who is also an engineer. Their daughter studied for a year in Washington DC and if she does well here in school, she can return to study for 3 years in the United States.
As we left Bethlehem, we passed through the Separation Wall, where Israeli soldiers checked our vehicle and anything that looked suspicious. Sometimes they wave us through. This time they checked the glove compartment and asked if we were Americans.
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