‘Disability is not inability’, demonstrates Jordanian with cerebral palsy through his craft business

AMMAN — Ahmad Al Masri, a 32-year-old Jordanian with mild cerebral palsy (CP), started his own small business “Hand Made by Ahmad” during the pandemic, which has since expanded successfully.

CP is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move, maintain balance and posture.

According to Masri, he joined a rehabilitation centre for young people with disabilities, which helps prepare them for the job market. 

“I was able to learn several crafts such as sewing and carpentry when the pandemic started and throughout lockdown. I wanted to help our community, so I started making colourful face masks with different designs and patterns, which were then delivered by my mother. It was very self-rewarding,” he told The Jordan Times.

Masri noted that he was granted a training scholarship from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA )in Jordan to go to Japan.

“I was introduced to the Japanese culture and trained on how to take care of people with disablities and the elderly,” he said.

“After coming back from Japan, SANA Jordan, an organisation for special-needs individuals, provided me with a job through its employment programme for adults with disabilities in 2019,” Masri continued.

He indicated that he did not face any challenges when starting his small business, but that the demand has increased over time.

“I could not complete all the orders I received as I work alone and not very quickly. But since demand was high at the time, I was able to expand and have more products, including pouches and clutches in both fabric and leather, and more,” he said.

Masri expressed happiness about his small business succeeding, despite the difficulties with marketing.

“I felt very satisfied and happy with what I have done, which was very good for me even if I could have done better,” he said.

Masri is looking forward to expanding the business’ product range, having more professional marketing, better packaging alongside more success.

“Disability is not inability, and once I accepted my limits I went beyond them,” he concluded.