"My daughter Hanin is fourteen. She developed cerebral palsy from a complication during birth. My wife and I have cared for her every day since — feeding her, changing her, carrying her in our arms. She is our only child. We're both getting older now. What drives us, what keeps us awake, is making sure she can take care of herself after we're gone.
She's been coming to IHH's rehabilitation center for four years. We'd tried other centers before. This is the one Hanin loved, and so did we. A shuttle picks her up every morning, her teachers look after her all day, and the shuttle brings her home in the evening. At the other places, my wife and I had to drive her back and forth ourselves. The teachers there only handled her lessons. Because I work, my wife had to stay with Hanin the whole day — changing her, feeding her. And with us sitting right there, Hanin couldn't focus. She couldn't get used to being apart from us.
She loves this place so much that she counts the days until it reopens after summer break. Every morning on the way here, she's smiling. When she's happy, we're even happier. Before she started here, she couldn't walk at all. Now she walks. She tries to feed herself. She learns something new every day. She communicates with us. We never could have imagined that. This center brought our daughter back to life."
Fahad Abdulmecid
Cerebral palsy, when left without rehabilitation, leaves a person entirely dependent on others. Yemen has many children living with the condition. They need consistent rehabilitation and specialized medication. Without that support, some never learn to walk on their own.
The treatment takes years, and for families who can't afford it, that means watching their child go without. Our Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation Center in Yemen provides everything free of charge. For hundreds of families like Hanin's, it is the only option they have.
The center serves up to 400 children. Each one is assessed by age and need, then begins a long-term rehabilitation program under specialist care. The early stages focus on the nervous system, muscles, and joints — learning to stand, learning to walk, gaining confidence. Over time, children move into structured learning through educational games, and eventually into practical skills: writing, mathematics, computers, sewing machines. By the time they complete the program, they can navigate daily life, communicate with the people around them, and look after themselves.
The most important part of rehabilitation, though, is love. The reason Hanin chose this center over every other one she attended comes down to her teachers' affection — and the generosity of donors who made her free education possible, year after year.
Your donations can keep this center running and support the 400 children currently in rehabilitation as they work toward independence.
What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects muscle strength, movement, and motor skills. It disrupts the body's ability to move in a coordinated, purposeful way. There is no cure, but with specialized medication and sustained rehabilitation, its effects can be significantly reduced. A person with cerebral palsy can recover enough to speak, move, interact with others, and live independently.
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