“God only gives children with special needs to mothers with special strength”. This is how one of the mothers in the Parent-to-Parent support group described her case. From journeys filled with challenges, these mothers turned their worries into positivity and hope. SKILD held a Christmas event to honor mothers of children with special needs and celebrate with them a successful year in which they pioneered in raising the voice for the rights of children with learning difficulties and spread awareness across Lebanon. Part of this awareness was reaching out to special needs parents in the North, who we became part of the Parent-to-Parent family and who we are glad were able to join the celebration.
Amidtst the cheering, fun, and Christmas carols, some mothers shared their journeys with the others. The first testimony had a special and unusual angle – special needs and adoption. Through this testimony we learned what it means to love unconditionally. We also learned that sometimes God allows that our challenges be the light in the dark for other people as, through this young boy, and because of him, SKILD was established, giving hope to hundreds of parents for the past twelve years. Another testimony brought joy to the event as the mother shared the journey of her 22-year-old daughter with Autism. Through the different milestones of her daughter, the mother was always asking God why he allowed for her daughter to be different, to finally get the answer that it was because she was a special mom.