AlManarah - The Association for Arab Persons with Disabilities

**When Partnership Becomes a Bridge Between Communities 💙**

Last Friday, AlManarah House hosted a deeply moving event celebrating the fruitful, long-standing partnership between AlManarah Association and The Road to Recovery בדרך להחלמה.

We were delighted to open the doors of AlManarah House and welcome approximately 100 volunteers from The Road to Recovery. During their visit, they attended an inspiring and moving talk by AlManarah’s founder and CEO, Adv. Abbass Sidkey Abbass.

Abbass shared his personal journey—from growing up as a person with a disability in Arab society to becoming a social entrepreneur who founded an organization with both local and international impact. AlManarah works to build a better, more inclusive society by promoting the inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities, their families, and society as a whole.

We were also honored to host singer-songwriter Amir Lev / עמיר לב, whose heartfelt performance captivated the audience and added a truly special and unforgettable atmosphere to the gathering.

Yuval Roth, founder of The Road to Recovery, delivered moving remarks in which he highlighted the long-standing partnership between our two organizations, including their joint efforts on behalf of sick children from Gaza and their families.

For us at AlManarah, our partnership with The Road to Recovery represents far more than joint activity—it is a bridge of humanity, hope, and connection between people and communities.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to The Road to Recovery, its founder Yuval Roth and CEO Yael Noy, its dedicated volunteers, and Amir Lev for this inspiring event.

AlManarah House will continue to open its doors to organizations and partners who wish to join forces and work together for the benefit of all.

Another sweet, enjoyable, and enriching day in AlManarah’s Hebrew course! 🍰📚

During this session, the children learned Hebrew in a different and creative way—through the kitchen. Together, they read a cake recipe in Hebrew, learned new words and expressions, became familiar with the names of the ingredients, understood the preparation steps, and followed the instructions one by one.

The activity gave the children an opportunity to practice reading, comprehension, conversation, and teamwork, all in a fun, practical, and engaging atmosphere. Every child took part in the process: measuring, mixing, asking questions, explaining, and helping friends—until they created a delicious and successful cake.

At AlManarah’s Hebrew course, we believe that language learning should not remain only in notebooks. When children use the language during real-life activities, they gain confidence, develop independence, and discover that Hebrew can be accessible, useful, and enjoyable.

At the end of the session, we enjoyed the cake the children had prepared together, and most importantly, we celebrated their sense of achievement, cooperation, and pride in the learning process.

Well done to our wonderful children for their enthusiasm, teamwork, and determination to learn and progress! 💙

https://almanarah.org/almanarah-launches-pilot-version-of-smart-voice-assistant-in-the-arabcast-books-app/?lang=en

A defining and historic moment for AlManarah Association!

Today, the pilot version of the smart voice assistant was launched in the ArabCast Books app—another significant step forward in the technological accessibility revolution we are leading.

Powered by artificial intelligence, the new assistant enables users to access a library of thousands of audiobooks and podcasts through natural conversation. Users can ask it to find a book, start playing it, and perform a variety of actions while listening, including navigating between chapters, skipping forward, rewinding, and more—all using voice commands alone.

This is far more than a technological development. It represents a new, simple, and accessible way to enjoy knowledge, culture, and content. It was designed to enhance the experience of all ArabCast Books users, especially people with disabilities.

The pilot launch is only the beginning. In the coming period, we will continue learning from our users, improving the assistant’s capabilities, and expanding the services it offers.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our partners at Discount Bank for helping advance this project, and to MigoyaTech, led by Gil Meller, for its professional partnership and valuable contribution to the development of the voice assistant.

We are proud of this moment and excited about the journey ahead—a journey in which technology opens doors and enables everyone to listen, discover, and enjoy an entire world of content.

Thrilled to join the Impact Program! 🎉

We are grateful to ElevenLabs bs for supporting AlManarah – The Association for Arab Persons with Disabilities with a complimentary Pro plan for one year.

This partnership will help us create more accessible Arabic audio content, audiobooks, podcasts, and inclusive digital resources, enabling people with disabilities to access knowledge, culture, and opportunities more independently. 💛🎙️

We look forward to using AI-powered voice technology to advance accessibility, inclusion, and social impact.

In a joyful, emotional, and uplifting atmosphere, AlManarah concluded its special summer camp program in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, offering the children a day filled with meaningful, enjoyable, and unforgettable experiences.

One of the most exciting moments was the children’s meeting with Spencer, the beloved guide dog, who immediately captured everyone’s hearts. The participants also enjoyed a creative jelly-cookie workshop led by instructor Rim Arshid, the “Lost Light” activity station led by Mona Sharif, and a values-based song creation activity using artificial intelligence, facilitated by AlManarah team member Fatma Mahaj’na.

During the “AlManarah Got Talent” activity, held in AlManarah’s professional video studios, the children were given a special stage to express themselves and showcase their talents through singing, music, speeches, Quran recitation, reading, and many other creative performances. Each participant brought a unique voice, courage, creativity, and wonderful positive energy.

At the end of the activities, Abbass presented the participants with gifts, and everyone left Beit AlManarah happy, excited, and deeply satisfied. For us, their smiles were the greatest gift and a powerful reminder of the importance of activities that combine enjoyment, values, creativity, inclusion, and acceptance of others.

We extend our sincere thanks to the Ministry of Education, our dedicated team, the instructors, and everyone who contributed to making this special experience possible. We will continue working to ensure that every child feels seen, valued, supported, and given the opportunity to shine.

Today, with great excitement, we opened the first day of AlManarah’s summer camp for children and youth with disabilities — a day full of smiles, creativity, movement, music, technology, and above all, so much joy in our hearts. 🌟 During the day, the participants enjoyed an interactive and fun sports activity in the yard of Beit AlManarah, led by instructor Mona Sharif, who created an energetic, warm, and empowering atmosphere. Later, a special creative workshop for making puppets was held, led by instructor Reem Arshid, allowing each child to express their imagination, talent, and inner world in a colorful and moving way. One of the most beautiful moments of the day was the musical performance by the talented child Jawad Kadumi, who moved us all with his oud playing and reminded us how talent, sensitivity, and art can light up the heart. In addition, the participants were introduced in an experiential way to ArabCast Books — AlManarah’s unique app for accessible audiobooks — and especially to its new smart bot, which is currently under development, through Activities Coordinator Fatma Mahajna, who presented the children with a new world of listening, knowledge, and imagination. AlManarah would like to sincerely thank Ministry of Education instructor Mariam Rafaa for her meaningful and professional cooperation, and McDonald’s for donating meals to the camp participants. Thank you to everyone who took part in the first day, and especially to my team members: Mohammad Aktilat, Yevgeny Isaychuk, Israa Zuabi, and the instructors — Amir Saidi, Taha Afifi, Elsa Farhat, and Nadia Yassin. Together, you turned this day into an unforgettable experience of inclusion, empowerment, creativity, and love. 💙

A new course is opening at Beit AlManarah: Spoken Hebrew for children and youth with and without disabilities.

As part of the diverse activities offered by the Beit AlManarah Children and Youth Club, we are delighted to launch a new course that will provide participants with practical tools for speaking Hebrew, strengthen their self-confidence, and create an inclusive, equal, and supportive social space for shared learning.

The course will be led by Hebrew teacher Gur Barkai and will guide participants through an engaging, professional, and needs-adapted learning experience.

We would like to thank AlManarah’s dedicated team: Ms. Israa Zuabi for her important support in recruiting participants, and our Project Coordinator, Yevgeny Osichuk, who will coordinate and accompany the project.

We extend our deep gratitude to all our partners, led by The Ted Arison Family Foundation, for their meaningful support of this project and for believing in the ability of children and youth to learn, grow, and build a more inclusive society together.

Together, we continue creating opportunities, strengthening abilities, and opening doors to a more equal future.

Today, we held a special accessibility training session for the bus drivers of JB Tours, led by Attorney Abbass Abbass, Founder and CEO of AlManarah Association.

During the training, participants received practical guidance and important tips on how to interact appropriately, sensitively, and respectfully with people with disabilities. The session emphasized the importance of providing equal, respectful, independent, and safe public transportation services for every person — from the moment they wait for the bus until they reach their destination.

Attorney Abbass also addressed the importance of respectful treatment of people who travel with guide dogs and shared personal examples from his experiences with his beloved guide dog, Spencer. Through these stories, the importance of awareness, patience, attentive listening, and cooperation on the part of drivers and service personnel became especially clear.

A heartfelt thank you to Ms. Lina Kubti, CEO of JB Tours, for her partnership, willingness, and investment in organizing this important training.

True accessibility begins with a human attitude and continues through everyday actions that enable every person to move through the world with confidence, dignity, and independence.