What used to make me laugh now makes me weep: two opposites whose origin lies in the secret of my making

Ibtisam is a little girl no more than ten years old. She loves her father greatly, for he is to her everything she has known of tenderness. She loves him madly and will not sleep except in his arms, to listen each night to a beautiful story that plays on her small dreams and her limited imaginings. After a time her father fell ill with the malignant disease and remained in hospital for three consecutive months. His condition began to worsen more and more, until the sad news came that she could not bear: the death of her tender father. The child grieved greatly, for that tender father who always played with her, carried her and bought her toys had gone. The child was shaken by her father's death and it affected her life, so that she fell into a very difficult psychological state until she came to hate everything in life and dark thoughts came over her. She often tried to take her own life so as to join her father, trying to kill herself or to throw herself under a car. Ibtisam found no substitute for her father, for her eldest brother constantly beat her for the slightest reason. The child would turn to her mother, but the mother is weak and cannot control matters in the house or protect her little daughter from her eldest son, and this affected the child psychologically, so that she came to fear her brother and any other person and to fear everything around her, even her mother. From here a greater problem began with the child, as she began to wet herself every night. The child came to prefer sitting alone and sleeping early so as not to see anyone from her family, and she does not like to share in her family's joys or sorrows, nor does she speak to anyone at school, and she had no friends at school. Because of her withdrawal and the weakness of her character she began to be subjected to physical and verbal violence even at school by her classmates, and despite all this the child keeps it locked in her breast and shows no reaction at all. Through the school visit it emerged that she loves Arabic and her Arabic teacher, and wishes to become an Arabic teacher in the future. She is also drawn to the drawing corner because she expresses through drawing the sorrows and worries within her. Through the discussion that took place between the project team, the teacher and the counsellor at the school about the child, it emerged that the child does not engage with anyone at school, neither the teachers nor her classmates, and remains isolated for long periods. At the beginning of the project "Our children are our hopes" there were many problems between the child and her classmates within the project, where Ibtisam was subjected to physical and verbal assault by these girls. Through group counselling sessions with the girls the causes of the problem between them were identified, along with an agreement with the rest of the pupils not to subject their classmate to any kind of harm and to befriend and respect her like all the other children. During the psychological support sessions Ibtisam refused to take part despite repeated attempts to include her with the children, and through an individual counselling session with the child, psychological support and a behavioural contract with her, she began to improve greatly and started taking part with her classmates in the recreational activities, asking for some of the activities and games she likes to be repeated and wanting very much to take part in them. Through the team's follow-up of the counselling and psychological support sessions, the home visits to the child's family, speaking with them and their cooperation with us for the sake of their child, the child rid herself of the feelings of anxiety, tension and intense fear. The child improved greatly and now enjoys a high degree of flexibility with the rest of her classmates. During the mother's visit to us she thanked us a great deal and seemed happy at her child's improvement, to the point that the child's academic level also became better and the mother noticed this improvement in her child. She hopes her child will stay with us for longer periods and that we will continue to visit them at home so that the child remains in the best condition and moves forward, particularly in her level at school.