Lebanese mediator role model
From the age of four, the Lebanese Hussein Ismail, mediator for the Liliane Foundation, attended a boarding school for deaf children in Beirut. Monthly he travelled to his family's village in South Lebanon, but because of his disability, Hussein did not feel at ease there. His sisters and parents were devoted to him, but he did not dare using sign language, being afraid that the village children would laugh at him.
Being a child, Hussein sometimes reacted with anger and aggression; meanwhile he understands the negative reactions to his deafness. "I do not blame them for that", he says talking about the villagers. "There is a common lack of awareness in society." He frequently draws attention to the position and the potential of deaf people in the Lebanese society.
Hussein himself became an important role model and gets much media attention: in addition to several successfully completed studies, he got a doctor's degree and was founder of a special High School for the Deaf, allowing deaf children to study. The Liliane Foundation supports this school among other things through scholarships, special visual aids and school furniture.
Hussein hopes that many deaf children will follow his example and will also obtain a university degree. That is what he promised that one official of the Lebanese Ministry of Education at the moment he was accused of bribery. "How much did you pay for it?", asked the official when young Hussein collected his masters diploma. He could not believe that the deaf young man facing him, was able to qualify for his diploma on his own. "Nothing", answered Hussein. "And I will prove that many deaf students will once be able to qualify for their diploma just like me."
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