Ramallah: Seven-year-old disabled twin Ahmad and Mahmoud have not had a chance to enrol at a public school and can expect to remain illiterate for the rest of their lives as their family cannot afford their treatment.

The twin’s family which lives beside the Israeli segregation barrier in the northern West Bank cannot even afford the transport fees to drive the twins to the city of Tulkarem for the thrice weekly treatment sessions.

The twins who suffer from speaking and listening disabilities must start their treatment sessions before enrolling in a school.

Suhad Jubara, the twin’s mother, told Gulf News that she had to give up the idea of educating the twins after she was left to singlehandedly support a family of seven kids and a husband who was jobless after suffering a stroke.

“The day I delivered my youngest boy a couple of months ago, my husband had a stroke which made him yet another burden on my shoulders,” she said.

Suhad has to support a family of four boys, two of whom have special needs, and three girls along with a sick husband who also needs money for his medicines.

“There is no chance of my being able to afford the treatment of my disabled twins to enrol them in a school. I will not register my three other kids who go to school for the coming academic year to cut costs,” she said.

“I have been put in a situation where every single penny counts,” she said, adding that she plans to arrange the marriage of her 14-year-old oldest daughter to reduce her domestic expenses.

“I do not have time for a job. My time is divided between my newly born infant and my sick husband who needs more help than the baby,” she said.

Suhad’s husband, Mohammad Ahmad Yousuf, has left her saddled with huge debts and a bank loan. “The bank instructed us to pay the instalments but we failed to do that. The Palestinian Police came home to arrest my husband whose medical conditions prevented his detention. However,his sponsor, my brother in-law, has been in jail for the past couple of days,” she said.

Gulf News was unable to speak to Mohammad who has lost his ability to speak.