While looking back during the 2009, we sensed a deep gratitude for what God has done for us, giving us so many blessings, guidance and provisions.  Indeed the year 2009 was a good year.   The beginning of this scholastic year (2009-2010) brought good fruits for the Integrated Nursery Program, where a new devoted teacher has joined the team and serious work is taking place concerning the curriculum, in order to provide rich experiences and learning for both deaf and hearing children. 

The Early Intervention Program has served 43 children and their families that year, and has witnessed very good developments, especially regarding with the initiation of the Outreach Program.

The High School has three full classes of 17 students and a second group of its graduates has joined University.  A real challenge! 

Other activities have been started and many people served in many different ways.

Praise God for all what He is offering his children through us and for using us as a light to guide the people to recognize His great, unconditional love.

May God bless every person supporting the programs of the LCD, those who are offering donations, those who are accepting to work with us for humble salaries, those who are volunteering, those who are spreading the word about our work, and those who are praying for us and whose prayers are certainly being heard and answered.

The LCD has undergone a thorough Outreach Program during the year 2009.  Please view the following link The Outreach Program – Report of the 2009 for the detialed information.

Karine, who is a sister of Levon (English Teacher for the High School Program), also joined our Integrated Nursery in September 2009 and now we have a wonderful teacher whose heart is guided towards loving and giving.  Karine came as a great support to Nadine who was trying to find a good team of teachers for the Nursery.  Nadine is presently teaching at the Nursery and helping develop a special program for the integrated Nursery, supported by two teachers, Wadad and Karine.  Arzeh, who is deaf, and was Nadine’s student when she was six years old, has also become an assistant teacher at the Nursery in addition to supervising the boarding girls at night.

Young is a volunteer from Korea who came to the LCD through Hiyam, the High School teacher, who knew of our need for someone to assist Arzeh at the girls’ boarding section.  She introduced Young to us, and Young then needed a permit to stay in Lebanon through an association.  Young was delighted to help us; she is a beautiful lady who left her country in order to come to Lebanon and serve the people as a way to serve God, when she heard of the war of 2006 and its horrors.

She is now helping create a very motherly atmosphere at the boarding, and she is also assisting us at least twice a week during the day, wherever there is a need, to prepare material or replace a sick Nursery teacher.

I thank God for the privilege of working at the LCD.

When God called me to quit my previous job, I wasn’t sure where to go or what to do next. I heard of a job vacancy at the Learning Center for the Deaf and applied. I ended up employed as the English teacher for the High School classes. I remained unsure whether I was in the right place, doing the right thing. The first few weeks were very challenging. I had never worked with deaf people before, and was anxious about my ability to communicate with them. I prayed and asked God to help me.

And guess what! He not only helped me to do my job , He also helped to enjoy it. In just a few weeks, I was more than sure that I was in the right place. Everyday is a new learning experience for me. I ask many questions to everyone at the Center, including the students themselves, to improve my teaching and their learning. I have to admit that I do get discouraged sometimes, but the encouragement I receive from everyone in the Center keeps me going. I love my work. And I love my workplace.

If you ever visit the Center, you’ll find a big family of teachers and staff working together in a loving atmosphere to provide the students with “a good start … for a better future.”

Bino is a cat we adopted at the LCD.  She came to us as a cute kitten, in January 2009, from a dog shop where her owner who worked there was not allowed to keep her.  Bino first stayed inside the building of the LCD.  Slowly we helped her go outside.  She now appreciates her freedom to go in and out at her free will. 

The children of the Nursery are all delighted by her presence, but poor little ones, they do not realize that their screams of joy make Bino run away.

Stephanie, one of our Nursery children who has communication problems and who took some months to learn to look us in the eyes, is very fond of Bino to the point where it is very hard to bring her in when Bino is outside.  She keeps following her with her big beautiful eyes, and she jumps from joy every time she sees her, but rarely manages to be close from her due to the way she expresses her excitement and runs after her, like a beautiful wild cat herself.  Stephanie is fascinated by animals even the Nursery’s tiny water turtle.  Stephanie brings the cat puzzle piece to the turtle and shows it to her.

In reality, everyone is starting to like Bino, even those who do not really like to have animals around.  In a short period of time Bino was able to sit on the blanket assigned for her on one of the chairs in the sitting room, and quickly learned to sharpen her nails only in the garden and not in the furniture.  She is a special cat indeed.

In the summer of 2006 and just before the July war, the LCD held a Kermess (fair and bazaar) at the same time as the World Football match. It was then a great success… before the storm.

Last summer (2009), we thought to hold a Bazaar with some entertainment activities. For a while we thought to cancel the idea since there were almost no volunteers to help in the Bazaar.
Nadine prayed and left it up to God whether this event should take place or not. A few days later she got a confirmation from friends that they would take care of presenting a show for kids in addition to face painting and ballooning. These friends are from the “Family Care Association”, which members are families and individuals from different countries around the world, living as one family with the aim of spreading God’s love through their services to the needy. A group of friends who always meet for bible study and prayer offered to volunteer for the services of selling and organizing activities.

This was a clear sign that the event was meant to take place. Indeed the day of the Bazaar came and the atmosphere was great. Besides the entertainment activities and the selling of old and new things many of which was offered by people, Hussein took charge of an auction, where people were competing to buy items, whether for the need of the item, or for the fun of competing to buy an item, or simply and kindly to support the LCD.

It was indeed a memorable day full of laughter and fun for participants as well as for organizers. The result was a bunch of joy, shining rays of love, as well as a sum of $1,550, which is part of a sum needed for training purposes.

View the following video clips/slides from the YouTube

Deaf students during their first week on YouTube