Description
Hand made in Beit Jala by Lifegate Rehabilitation Centre. Lifegate is an organisation with Palestinian and German staff, whose goal is to help the Gate of Life stay open for people with impairments, whether physical or mental. Lifegate conducts a thorough assessment of each child’s needs with examinations by both Israeli and Palestinian doctors. A well-equipped new building opened in 2013 enables many staff to do diagnostics, medical care, physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy and special education for 30 disabled people. There are sheltered workshops and the first special school on the West Bank for children with special needs. Workers receive payments for products they make but this is not a large part of Lifegate’s mission. Carpentry, blacksmith, shoe repair, tailoring, knitting and traditional crafts are taught and sometimes lead to the person returning with skills to his/her home. Lifegate have received several grants from Palcrafts, the latest in 2016 for the purchase of a computer to use with disabled children in their kindergarten and school.