Sumaya al-Khattab, a visually impaired Palestinian woman, speaks to her listeners inside Shams radio station which employs people with eye sight problems in Dir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, Jan. 22, 2020.

 

Sumaya al-Khattab, a visually impaired Palestinian woman, speaks to her listeners inside Shams radio station which employs people with eye sight problems in Dir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, Jan. 22, 2020.

 

Sumaya al-Khattab (C), a visually impaired Palestinian woman, speaks to her listeners inside Shams radio station which employs people with eye sight problems in Dir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, Jan. 22, 2020.

 
Sumaya al-Khattab, from the city of Dir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip, welcomes her listeners in her pleasant and attractive voice, giving them advice on how to deal with daily problems facing them.

Al-Khattab, 32, works as an anchor at Shams radio station. The radio station, opened a few months ago, is considered as the first news outlet of its kind, which employs people with eye sight problems.

Using her daily program as a platform, al-Khattab gives advice on how to overcome difficulties in the coastal enclave.

Nevertheless, the job is not easy for al-Khattab. To prepare for the rundown, the anchor needs to first type the broadcast using a special app and then transfer it into a Braille reading device, which helps her to broadcast the topics.

Difficulties, however, do not bother her. "It is a great chance for me to become a famous anchor, especially I am a disabled person," she said joyfully.

She added that in the past people, like her, who were marginalized by the society, had zero opportunities in Gaza.

While the situation has changed, Shams radio station, which aims to help people with disabilities, is also facing a number of challenges, the main of which is funding.

"We are a team of eight people working around the clock to make sure we give our listeners the news they want to hear. But we are all volunteers and without necessary funds, we will not be able to stay afloat for too long," said Amr al-Hajj, the station's coordinator.

Despite the hardship, the station receives positive feedback and is aiming even higher. "We want to establish a satellite channel for the disabled people so that people all over the world who face similar problems can listen to our broadcasts," explained al-Hajj.

According to official statistics, there are more than 47,000 disabled people in Gaza which make up slightly over 2.5 percent of the strip's total population.

Al-Hajj expressed the hopes for more job opportunities for the people with disabilities.

Israel has imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, when the Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the coastal enclave from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority.

Since then, the situation has been deteriorating. The youths in the Gaza Strip are suffering from high rates of unemployment.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics published a recent report showing that unemployment rates in Gaza have reached 52 percent in 2018, compared with 44 percent in 2017.

Meanwhile, al-Khattab said she and her colleagues in the radio station are doing their best to set an example for the disabled.

"We should live as strong and self-confident people," she added with smiles.