Animated series on disability targets parents, children

AMMAN — With the initial aim of seeking medical treatment for her children, Reem Franji visited Jordan for the first time in 2010, leaving her husband and family in the Gaza Strip.

Her two children, Abood and Amer, were diagnosed with Global Development Delay (GDD) at birth. 

“In Gaza, we didn’t have anything; we came here and thought that we can take the plans from medical centres and go back to Gaza and implement them there,” she told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Franji’s interest in GDD and how parents can deal with it developed to become a script for “Team Hero”, an animated TV series currently in production, featuring characters with disabilities as its main characters.

“We started developing the idea in 2013. It was the product of my experience with my children,” Franji said.

She then met Khaled Abu Sharif, co-creator and content developer, and Mutaz Jarrar, the business development director, and started working on turning the idea into reality.

“It all started with an idea, but it developed step by step; we started getting funds from organisations like the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, UNICEF and Jordan Bromine, with 22 volunteers who enabled us to move on to the next stage,” Franji said.

They are currently producing their first season, which consists of 13 episodes, 10 minutes each, that cover several issues about disability and parenting.

“The main [idea] is that everyone is unique. If you try to put one size for all human beings you are going to struggle; there are different people with special needs; each is a unique person,” Abu Sharif said.

He added the work promotes an “inclusive way of life that recognises that everybody has something to offer”.

Jarrar said the work is “an international idea that people from many countries can relate to”.

He said the project aims at finding ways to engage persons with disabilities in society and support them to make a living.

“Around 97 per cent of persons with disabilities in Jordan do not receive a proper education, according to the Higher Council for Persons with Disabilities. We want to contribute to lowering the percentage,” Jarrar added.

The production team said they thought of a show that teaches children manners and good behaviour in a creative way.

“We have the artsy person who loves to sing; we have the intellectual who makes technology cool again; we have the super-organised one. We’re highlighting positive characters,” Abu Sharif told The Jordan Times.

The team is planning to hold workshops and screen some episodes to educate parents and children at public and private schools on how to deal with children with disabilities.

Team members said the series will be broadcast by regional channels in both Arabic and English, using simple vocabulary to target as many children as possible from around the world.

“It’s because we are talking about diversity. We want to promote tolerance among communities,” Franji said.

More information on the project is available on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHeroCartoon/.