Draw a dream

It was not by chance that this past year’s theme was, “Draw a Dream.”
Our dreams can create hope despite all the circumstances that block our way and challenge
our future.
Yes, we want to make dreams, because dreams heal, purify, and bring things back together
again.
Dreams are always beautiful.
Let us build dreams—for our children, youth, their families, and our mission.
Let us work on the dream we want for our country.
Let us create dreams and work together to fulfill it with hope and faith.

Fadia Safi
General Manager of SESOBEL

During 2007-2008, SESOBEL’s holistic approach cared for the need of 444 children
and youth as well as 420 of their families.
Age Handicap
26 172
0 – 6 years 133 Physical disability 39
76
7 – 12 years Mental disability
Pervasive developmental
13 – 16 years disorder
17 – 20 years 33 Other disabilities
20 years and more

74 128
207

SESOBEL, Aïn El Rihani, street 11, Kesrouan, PoBox 551 - Zouk Mikael - Lebanon
email : info@sesobel.org website : www.sesobel.org
Programs and Sercices
I – Rehabilitation Program, a personalized program
for each child
During the 2007-2008 year, 21 943 medical and rehabilitative interventions were offered for
the children. These services included state evaluations, consultations, medical exams,
rehabilitation care, family guidance, technical aids, surgeries, and Gait Motion Analysis.

The Services

The Family Reception Service / SAF Re-education and Therapies

The SAF received 107 children and youth Services Children and youth
from 103 families. - Physical therapy 322
These families were offered diagnosis, - Occupational therapy 158
family support when the disability was - Speech therapy 295
identified, information about their child’s - Psychomotricity 244
condition and the rehabilitation care they - Psychotherapy 79
need.
Some of these children were referred to These services included evaluation, re-
other institutions because of the lack of education, family guidance, research and
vacant placements at SESOBEL. training.

Ambulatory Services Technical Aids

This service assisted 62 children who cannot 697 technical aids were manufactured to
attend internal programs because of distance, 299 children and youth who have limited
delicate health conditions, or integration in motor capabilities.
regular school program. The aids covered: Special material to help
They benefit from this program’s medical maintain good posture while in the sitting,
care, rehabilitation services, and family standing or lying down position, orthosis,
support. adaptations to facilitate the achievement of
daily skills, home and classroom modifications
to improve lifestyle and accessibility.
External Services
These services are open to paying patients
outside of the SESOBEL community.
44 individuals benefited from rehabilitation
services and from Gait Motion Analysis.

Medical Care Service

To provide specific and complementary
medical care to 346 children and youth:
diagnosis, specialized medical care and
community health services, during working
hours, for all the children and the team of
SESOBEL.
II – The Education Programs, an appropriate pedagogy
Beneficiaries

Kindergarten 29 children
Physical disability 49 children and youth
Mental disability 84 children and youth
Pervasive developmental disorder 39 children and youth

Through educational services, we aim to discover and enhance the capacities of the chil-
dren on cognitive, affective and social levels.

New achievements
- Partial integration of 3 autistic youth in
the sheltered workshops.
- An Open House program was held for the
families of autistic children. Parents
attended information sessions on autism,
and then visited the classrooms and
spent time with their children. The parents
were invited to a festive lunch and party
hosted by the children.
- Implementation of new workshops for
education and rehabilitation, addressed
to children with severe mental retardation.
- Introducing a theatre workshop for autistic
children.
- Starting a new approach to teach autonomy
to children with severe mental retardation
at the kindergarten level.
- New organization of the program for
children with multiple handicaps and
introducing new workshops (esthetic,
visual, culinary, movement…) to stimulate
interaction with the children.
- Introducing French language lessons to a
group of physically disabled children.

Extracurricular Activities
The children and youth of SESOBEL benefited
from 30 recreational and educational field
trips, for culture, information and fun.

These activities also included special

occasions like Halloween, Independence
Day, Christmas celebration, and other
outings.
III - The Sheltered Workshops, a social and vocational
integration
Beneficiaries: 30 youth
They integrated in the following workshops:
Production workshops: chocolate factory,
Pre-press workshop, horticulture, sales at
SESOBEL’s permanent exhibition centers,
SESOBEL’s cafeteria.
Workshops for the daily living skills:
Laundry, stock keeping, kitchen, technical
aids.

IV - The Social Action, a privileged partnership with

the family
To accompany all the members of the The siblings group
family and provide them with parental composed of 47 brothers and sisters (aged
guidance and social support. between 6 and 18 years old)

They held six meetings for information and

Individual interventions: training purposes.
1336 interventions The themes were:
549 home visits - The mission of SESOBEL and Anta-Akhi
775 interviews at SESOBEL - Effective relationships with parents
12 visits during hospitalization of the child - The problems encountered at adolescence
- Dealing with the problems associated
with having a disabled sibling
Group intervention: - Long term care options for disabled
70 mothers and 7 couples siblings.
52 interventions
3 recreational outings 4 recreational outings
4 camps

Vocational skill training

To provide support to mothers
13 training sessions for 16 mothers:
- Handicrafts
- Embroidery
- Painting on tissue
- Stain Glass
SPECIAL ASSISTANCE Volunteers
Assistance to fit, equip and sponsor 937 hours of volunteer work were offered in
activities of SESOBEL: various fields:
Thanks to the precious collaboration of our
friends in Lebanon and abroad, we were - Marketing
able to cover needs related to the children - Sponsorship program
and to the development of SESOBEL - Production workshops
services - Administration and finance department
- Remodel and equip the central kitchen - Field trips with the children
- Install water distiller and solar heating - Education activities in classrooms
system
- Cover the fees of medicines, surgeries
and technical aids
- Cover the fees of the end of the year
event Testimony, of a father
- Build and equip the inclusion classroom When I was young, I used to dream of getting
at the Jezzine public school – South married and having a little girl that I would
Lebanon educate and cuddle. I dreamed of the
- Remodel and acquire new equipment for magic moment where I would hold her
the sewing workshop hand and guide her, proudly, to her husband.
- Cover summer camp fees
- Purchase a van This dream was broken the day the doctor
- Equip the classrooms told me, at the hospital in the presence of
many people, that my only child was
handicapped. The whole world collapsed
in front of me. I was happy to have a baby
Visitors, “toeveryone” our girl but I was dying knowing she had a
doors are open wide! problem.

Month after month I tried to get close to her

School and university students and to understand her. One day, I brought
667 students and scholars visited SESOBEL her a toy that spoke the word “mother”.
throughout the year to meet the children. She reacted to the sound and laughed. I
hoped she would say “father”, but it was
Special visitors not right away.
Monsignor John Faris, from the Pontifical As my daughter grew up, I thought that my
Mission old dream could not come true.
Mr. Tony and Mrs. Mary Khaicy, M. Jean-Claude I used to watch her mother take care of
Sabbagh, Mrs. May Succary, Mrs. Agathe Fahd, her, help her and choose her clothes. After
and Mrs. and Caroline Khaicy from SESOBEL a while, my daughter started choosing
Australia what to wear herself, she started to take
Mrs. Ina Rihani from the American Friends of care of herself, to become respectfully
SESOBEL – USA self-confident in society, to express her
Mr. Jean Dupré from “Les petits frères des feelings, to ask me to go out with her and
pauvres” France her mother.
Mr. Romain Cardon and Mr. Jean-François Le What more could I ask for?
Grand, from Partage – France
My dream had not faded away; on the
contrary, it was transformed into friendship,
love and admiration. My daughter will stay
with me, she will live with my loving affection,
and she will take care of me till my last day.
God had sent me a blessing which I had
not fully valued.

Father with a Down Syndrome daughter

Special events
The day camps First Communion during a big ceremony
that gathered all the children, their families,
The summer day camp the SESOBEL team and friends. Monsignor
90 children and youth participated to the Antoine Nabil Andari celebrated the mass
summer camp. They spent 5 weeks of with Father Joseph Salloum and
dream. SESOBEL’s chorus.
The siblings camp
37 brothers and sisters aged from 6 to 17
years old participated to this camp where SESOBEL’s staff appreciation
they lived like a big family called SESOBEL. end of the year day
the group of siblings aged from 7 to 16 Every year, July 31 is dedicated to the
years old gathered also at the end of April SESOBEL’s organizational team.
at Dlebta village. The theme of their reunion Everyone left their offices and their class-
was “Let us make a dream to live together” rooms to spend an exceptional day with
nature at Mayrouba village. Many surprises
took place there: the election of each
Sports activities : department’s model employee of the year,
Our champions goodbyes for those leaving SESOBEL,
The Special Olympics took place in games and skits… It was a marvelous
Shanghaï, China, September 12-28, 2007. occasion to reaffirm the mission of SESO-
More than 10 000 athletes from all over the BEL and to thank all the team for the great
world participated in various competitions. job they are doing.
Sara Khalifé and Rami Saad from SESOBEL,
won the silver medal and the fourth in the
swimming competition.
Bronze medal
Innovations
The Basketball team from SESOBEL
participated in a competition with many Inclusion classroom at the
other Lebanese associations. Jezzine public school
They were ranked third place and won the This pilot inclusion program has been a
Bronze medal. longtime goal of SESOBEL. It was finally
Their competitive spirit and enthusiasm implemented in Jezzine, South Lebanon, at
distinguished them. the primary public school. This “main-
Beirut Marathon streaming” or inclusion program offers
On Sunday, October 18, 2007 a group of social and educational advantages for both
SESOBEL youth with their teachers and disabled and non-disabled students. At
friends participated in the Beirut Marathon, the end of the year, a ceremony was held
which took place in downtown Beirut under with the children of SESOBEL and those of
the slogan “Let us run!” the public school.

The Girl Scouts “Tournesol” Child by child project

For more than 30 years, SESOBEL has
To celebrate the 70 years of the worked with all segments of society to
“Association des guides du Liban”, our Girl recognize the value of disabled children
Scouts “Les Tournesols” participated in and to defend their right to lead a dignified
the national day organized for the occasion. life.
They met with 4000 young Girl Scouts from Under this framework, the leadership of
different Lebanese regions; they shared SESOBEL asked their disabled youth to
with them the principles and values of promote a project called “Child by Child”,
scouting. in collaboration with ten schools that have
no disabled students enrolled. SESOBEL’s
First communion youth visited these schools and were able
May 11, 2008 was a blessed day. Thirty to address 721 students concerning the
five children from SESOBEL received their rights of the disabled, to discuss different
views on this topic and to answer questions.
End of the year event, “Let us work together for the
rights of disabled children”
Under the patronage of the Minister of
Education, Dr Khaled Kabbani, and with
the collaboration of the mobile operator,
Alfa, and within the framework of the “child
by child” project, the youth of SESOBEL
along with students from standard schools
presented a play about the rights of all
children. The play was interspersed with
songs and appearances by media figures.
The event took place on June 8, 2008 at
the Casino du Liban theatre whose
management graciously offered a small
reception at the end of the ceremony.
Those attending were touched by the
insightful way the youth proclaimed their
rights.
This event does not mark the end of the
project.
Next year, meetings and projects with
more schools will take place.

Our Resources
Charges Products
Sheltered workshops and production Foreign donations and sponsorship
Lebanese donations and sponsorship
Family reception program, Ministry of social affairs contribution
medical care and rehabilitation 22 % 22 % 22 % In kind donations
57 % Social assistance for families
Education programs and social action Self-sustained activities and sales
Families participation

16 %

12 %

25 %
18 %
5%

1%

Around the disabled child,

a big family
We want to thank all the members of the big family of SESOBEL who help us continue our
mission by showing us their confidence, their love and their support:
The general assembly, the board of direction, the volunteer ladies of the standing committees,
the technical advisers, the volunteer doctors, the sponsors and donors, the collaborators,
the suppliers, the parents of SESOBEL’s children and all the team.
Special thanks to our friends and sponsors from France, Australia and the United States
of America who are there for us with great fidelity and love.