Perhaps you have not been fortunate enough to know the sixty-year-old Muhammad Asaad al-Aghbar (Abu Rami), from the city of Nablus , who has been guided to the craft of making straw and nylon brushes since the seventies of the last century. Resilience After God's wisdom required that he lose his sight as a result of a severe weakness in the retina that had been necessary since birth, he refused to surrender and was determined to continue his career full of achievements.

The craftsman and active member of the Association for the Care of the Blind (Abu Rami) makes with his own hands distinctive collections of brushes that are used to clean roads and floors or paint and of different sizes, in the workshop of the association, making every effort to accomplish them with perfection and extreme accuracy, and away from complacency; So that his work remains the only competitor to these newly manufactured products through machines and imported from other countries.

Abu Rami told Al-Quds.com: “The most important thing that distinguishes my industry is that I color the plastic that I use in brushes, by placing two different colors against each other, then I start to combine them until the brush becomes colorful and beautiful, and everything that I produce in this craft is different and distinctive because I master it well.” However, I am a bit slow at work, I can do three or four brushes, and then I get a small amount for all the pieces I produce during the day.”

He adds that he learned this craft little by little, starting with small brushes and then paintbrushes, shoe brushes as well, and chairs made of bamboo wood, indicating that he had joined the "High School for the Blind" since his childhood, and he also used to make baskets of beads or straw where they were placed His products were shown in many exhibitions, but his poor eyesight failed him, and he did not continue to do so for long.

Abu Rami points out that he does not face difficulties at work, but offers his help to the rest of his colleagues in the association, but he suffers from difficulty in moving from one place to another, so his eldest daughter accompanies him in all his movements to become the sight he lost, and supports him leaving her studies since the school stage to stay with him. .

Abu Rami and his fellow members of the Association for the Care of the Blind, merchants and citizens, also hope that they will support their handicrafts, and that they will go to visit their humble workshop in the market, which is superior to ready-made products in terms of quality and period of use.

The secretary of the association, Eng. Hassan Al-Zaqqa, explains that its establishment since 1955 aims to reunite the blind in a special place for them, and to involve them in the society surrounding them in order to become effective and not be dependent on others, and to live independently and with dignity, until this group became engaged in handicrafts such as Manufacture of brushes and brooms from straw, wood or nylon, which are used in various fields of cleaning, whether in streets, shops, factories, or for painting and others.

And he added, "The association has no fixed sources of income or special projects except for this workshop, where we contract with the Nablus municipality and sell these brooms and brushes to them at nominal prices, and the association is based on donations from charitable people and the Zakat Committee, to support the blind, either with supplies and food parcels, or Financial aid according to the needs of each member.

And the executive director of the association, Eng. Musab Al-Nabulsi, continues the conversation, indicating that these products of brushes and road brooms that are made by the blind to earn their living, their workshop may be closed if the municipality stops purchasing them. Because the demand for them decreased as a result of the spread of plastic brushes in the markets, so limited quantities of them are produced, and most of them are sold to the municipality, just as there are no institutions and shops that support this handicraft.

He hopes that the competent authorities will help the association with another project to support the blind in addition to this simple investment, as the idea of establishing a bakery was proposed to be the source of income for the workers among them, and to spend its profits on other needy members.

Al-Nabulsi goes on to talk about the association’s activities and initiatives that help develop the talents of blind members, develop their skills, and enhance their self-confidence so that they can actively participate in the local community and take care of them in terms of education and culture. Accordingly, many courses and trainings are offered to them, such as first aid, and maintaining public health in cooperation with Civil defense, teaching languages, and always trying to provide job opportunities in community institutions for everyone who desires them.

He added that they are ready to teach any blind person this handicraft, and to teach them the Braille language as well, as they have copies written in this language and give them to whoever wants to obtain them, in addition to training them to practice various sports activities such as bell ball and running, and in order to help them know the types of medicines that were taken. Submitting a proposal to pharmaceutical companies so that an optical reader (barcode) is placed on the medicine packages, and as soon as the camera lens is shined on it, the blind person can know the use of various medicines, and other initiatives in restaurants and public facilities.

Al-Zaqqa also said that the association welcomes everyone who wishes to join it, from the age of 18 and over, but a report must be brought from the Palestinian Ministry of Health regarding his disability percentage, which is 80% or more, and whoever proves that it is less than that cannot join, adding that the association It includes (150 members), of whom (135 members) suffer from visual impairment or both visual and kinetic disabilities, and the rest of the members are sighted and volunteered to work in it in addition to their other jobs, where they constitute (15 members); In order to help the blind and conduct their work.

It is worth mentioning that Al-Aghbar represents one of the members of the association whose visual impairment did not discourage them from continuing their daily lives like any other person in society. Amazing art, such as playing musical instruments and singing, and some of them were employed in many institutions, and other skills that they acquired and were able to develop, in addition to the presence of a number of humanitarian cases that the association is constantly following up on.