About Us

At the heart of Ma’an Lil-Hayat are relationships between people with and without intellectual disabilities. A respectful relationship between people who treat each other as equals provides security and allows for growth, personal development, and freedom to become more fully the people we want to be. Most importantly, mutual relationships foster the acceptance of each person as a unique and valuable individual, whatever his or her abilities or disabilities.

Ma’an Lil-Hayat is founded on a pedagogy of relationship that is based on the person’s gifts and not on his/her limitations; on trust and personal growth through specific projects; and on the experience of each person’s unique value.

People with intellectual disabilities (referred to as our core members) are given a central place at Ma’an Lil-Hayat; they are welcomed and acknowledged as having rights and responsibilities, that is, as people who are not simply to be taken care of, to be assisted, but as full human beings who have something significant to offer to others.

For these reasons, core members take part as far as possible in decision-making processes at Ma’an lil-Hayat. Based on the abilities of each person, various means are used in order to encourage people to express and share their opinions.

Ma’an Lil-Hayat has had a great impact on the wider society in many different ways.

• Community outreach to those in need

Sana, one of our long-term core members, died in May 2017 after a year-long courageous struggle with cancer. Sana underwent chemotherapy treatment as an outpatient at a local hospital beginning in 2016. As the months went by, she and Amal (the assistant who accompanied Sana to the hospital) got to know the other patients in the unit. In fact, Sana and Amal transformed the atmosphere into a welcoming space where the patients and their companions began to form a little community of friends. So this oftentimes dismal, even frightening place became a safe space where friends could connect, support each other, and – dare we say it? – experience joy. After Sana finished her chemotherapy sessions, she and Amal realized that they missed their friends – the other outpatients – at the hospital. And Sana asked: “But who will make them smile if we aren’t there?” Thus began our search for a way to remain faithful to our friends. Remembering that no refreshments or snacks were provided at the hospital for the chemotherapy outpatients and their companions, we decided to prepare some sandwiches, fruit and drinks ourselves and go twice a week to visit and offer the snacks we had made. Ever since then, we have been faithful to this new mission and continue Sana’s powerful legacy of friendship and joy.

We’re only now beginning to realize the “reach” of our outreach. We recently received a phone call:

“Hello, Ma’an lil-Hayat.”

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Sir, how can I help you?”

“Well, I’m from Hebron, and I’m calling simply to say thank you. You’re the folks who visit the hospital, right?”

“Yes, indeed, we are.”

“You see, I go to the hospital every week for chemotherapy, and people from Ma’an lil-Hayat always come to visit the patients there and bring some snacks to share.”

“I’m glad that you’re happy with our visits.”

“It’s not only the food, you know. Your visits change our lives! It’s almost impossible to find a reason to smile when you’re in the middle of a chemotherapy session, and yet, when you people walk in, everyone’s mood changes. You remind us that we’re alive and that we’re able to enjoy life, even in the midst of the ordeal of chemotherapy.”

Visits to friends in a local institution

Since its establishment, Ma’an lil-Hayat has been committed to a unique form of community outreach to people with disabilities in a local residential institution. This commitment is the fruit of L’Arche International’s 30+-year history of faithfulness to a number of residents in this institution. A team of two assistants and three core members from Ma’an lil-Hayat regularly spend time visiting and animating activities with a group of our friends there, approximately 10 people, most of whom have severe disabilities. Among other things, this project enables core members from Ma’an to use their gifts and abilities to help people who are “less able” than they are and to recognize that their presence and friendship are of great value.

Sharing a spirit of welcome

Numerous local and international guests visit our community. The welcoming environment and joyful atmosphere offer an alternative view of people with intellectual disabilities who are often marginalized and looked down upon in society. Day-to-day life at Ma’an lil-Hayat introduces visitors to core members’ great capacity for welcome and friendship, among other qualities, and contributes to encouraging visitors to see the person first, rather than the disability.

Offering practical experience to university students

Ma’an lil-Hayat has entered into partnerships with a number of local universities who now send some of their students every semester for an internship experience. The students come from a variety of fields – special education, occupational therapy, social work, physical therapy, business, etc. This exposure invites students into a safe environment of diversity and leads them to discover the gifts that people with differing abilities can bring to community life.