The Yahya Center for Mental Health and Learning Difficulties recognizes that learning difficulties—whether stemming from apparent or hidden disabilities—are a primary cause of academic failure and early dropout. The scarcity of institutions specializing in diagnosis and intervention, along with the high cost of services, can prevent parents from meeting their children’s needs.
These difficulties are not a specific disease and therefore have no single cure. However, with proper diagnosis and intervention, children can overcome many of the challenges and achieve the same level of success as other children. For this reason, the Lebanese Association for Education, Care and Development, in partnership with the Ghobeiry Municipality and in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, established the Yahya Center for Mental Health and Learning Difficulties.
Ensuring every child's right to education: Developing the mental and psychological abilities of children with learning difficulties in order to improve school performance and reduce failure and dropout.
Relieving the financial burden on families: Adopting a tariff that does not reflect the actual cost, relying on annual support from the Ghobeiry Municipality, the International Medical Corps, and generous individuals and donors to cover the permanent budget deficit.
The center primarily serves children from low-income families who cannot afford diagnosis and long-term treatment. Therefore, public and semi-private schools have been a major focus. The center receives approximately 150 children per month (aged 3 to 12).
A committee of parents has been formed to partner with the association in managing and developing the center and securing funding for its ongoing needs.
In addition to diagnosis and treatment, the Yahya Center organizes seminars and workshops for teachers and parents. The experience and feedback of children and families is our primary measure of success. We do not discriminate based on the amount a beneficiary can pay. The service remains fully professional, while financial arrangements are determined by administration based on circumstances, with a maximum fee at least 40% below the actual cost.
The Yahya Center is a unique achievement: it offers diagnostic and treatment services for children aged 3 to 12 with learning difficulties that many educational systems cannot accommodate. Because treatment can take years and many families cannot afford it, the association has taken on this mission to provide equal service regardless of financial status—through partnership with the community, represented by the municipality and other charitable organizations. We continue to work to involve the primary partner responsible for this right: the state. Otherwise, what is the meaning of adherence to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and mandatory free education? We call on members and friends to support this center by encouraging philanthropists to contribute—so the center can expand, improve services, and open additional centers.