Layla, and her right to be given the opportunity for a better future

Physical and psychological disability among Iraqi refugees in Jordan is known to be very high, with higher rates among children and youth. About two thirds of disabled Iraqis are children and youth below the age of 24.

Layla, age six years, is the daughter of an Iraqi family who fled the conflicts in Bghdad in the mid nineties and took refuge in Zarqa, Jordan's second largest city, which struggles with poor physical infrastructure, congestion, industrial pollution, and limited community support capacity, as reflected in high rates of poverty, child labor and crime.

Layla has Down Syndrome which resulted in impairment of her cognitive ability, moderate learning disability, and noticeable slow physical growth as well as facial appearance.

"Although she is six years old, but her slow physical growth makes her look like a one year old baby," said her mother when I visited them with my HCI colleagues yesterday. "She can't talk, can't walk and eat very slowly like a newborn baby," her mother added.

Layla lives with her three brothers and sister and her two parents in a small apartment on the outskirt of Zarqa. Her father Jalal is a house-painter working irregularly in the informal market because he lacks work permit. His average monthly income of $200 can barely cover the $100 monthly house rent and the $100 monthly tuition for Layla’s special school for people with learning disability.

"I tried to look for a job to support the family income since my husband's work is very irregular, and at best what he earns is not enough to cover our basic needs. But I can't leave my five kids alone especially Layla who needs constant care and assistance to do her daily activities," her mother commented. "We don't have relatives here in Jordan to support us and we have no access to our relatives in Iraq, but we survive on occasional little assistance from our neighbors as well as from aid programs such your appreciated program," she concluded.

Although Layla's physical limitations cannot be overcome, education and proper care improve her quality of life. Early childhood interventions, screening for common problems, and vocational training, in addition to conducive family environment would improve the overall development of Layla.

"Since we enrolled Layla last year in this special school, we noticed significant improvement in Layla's receptiveness," said Layla's mother. "Now, she always smiles and we noticed improvement in her weight and more willingness to eat," she added.

I asked Layla's mother what the family most in need of. "Despite our terrible economic condition, I will do all I can to give Layla the opportunity to improve her overall development and her quality of life. She deserves to be given this opportunity. I will do all I can to keep her in this special school and provide her with the best environment at home which is vital to improve her overall development," Layla's mother responded. "Her monthly school tuition is $100 which covers the transportation since the school is not in Zarqa but in Amman. She also requires baby napkins, powdered milk, easy to swallow food, and I want to bring for her a clip-on chair," she concluded.

My colleagues continued the formal at-home needs assessment with Layla’s mother and the prioritization of their needs, while I sat with Layla playing with her and her ten-years-old sister Mariam who help her mother taking care of Layla, and her seven-years-old brother Yousef who was busy eating some the sweets we brought with us. HCI will provide individualized relief aid for those vulnerable Iraqi refugees with disability such as food and nutritional aid, basic home maintenance/appliances that contribute to accessibility and mobility as well as capacity for independent living, and essential medical equipments for people with disability.

I concluded my visit more convinced that HCI’s individualized support is a necessity. The need for at-home support and other one-to-one type of assistance by experienced social workers combined with individualized relief aid for Iraqi refugees with disability, particularly children and youth, is essential.