Apr 7, 2015 4 min read

Theo Mechtawi’s hearing impairment has not reduced his will to communicate.

The 76-year-old Washington man sounds like a prophet when he talks, words of wisdom rolling off his tongue in a Lebanese accent. Wearing a cross around his neck and an American flag pin on his cap, he quotes Jesus and speaks of philosophical subjects like controlling his “intellectual and emotional centers.”

But, more often, his thoughts went unvoiced ever since he became deaf two years ago. He does not use sign language and only spoke if someone initiated a conversation by writing on a dry erase board. That became too cumbersome, so employees at Senior LIFE – the adult day care center in North Franklin Township he attends twice a week – reached out to a nonprofit organization called Twilight Wish Foundation that aids senior citizens who are economically disadvantaged.

On Monday, the Washington County chapter of Twilight Wish granted Mechtawi an electronic device called an UbiDuo, which allows two people to sit face to face and communicate by typing responses. The conversation appears on two small screens, and anything typed on the device can be saved for later, which could come in handy during doctor’s visits.

The organization received a discounted price on the device from Missouri-based company sComm, which typically sells them for about $2,000 apiece.

Mechtawi said he felt grateful, but he was hesitant to test the device in front of a crowd that gathered at Senior LIFE.

“I need to practice,” he joked. “This is not going to raise the dead, but it is going to make my life a little bit more enjoyable.”

Mechtawi came to the United States about 35 years ago as a refugee. In Beirut, Lebanon, he prepared high school seniors for college by teaching them a number of subjects, including Arabic literature, physics and math.

“I was a good teacher,” he said, adding he was promoted to serve as director of several high schools in Tripoli and Beirut.

Then a civil war erupted. It lasted from 1975 to 1990 and claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people. The Christians in power fought against Muslim groups, bolstered by a significant Palestinian refugee population, and the warfare displaced thousands of civilians.

Mechtawi said he lived in constant terror and never thought he would get out of Lebanon alive.

“I saw what should not be seen – the horror and the cruelty of humans,” he said. “They were killing each other, Christians and Muslims, like flies. And by the power of God, I was able to reach here.”

Mechtawi moved to Pittsburgh before eventually relocating to Washington about 20 years ago to be near a friend. He made a living by repairing electronics and home appliances.

A couple years after moving to Washington, he met Kim Johnson, who worked at Chicken Charlie’s on Jefferson Avenue. He was a regular customer, and they quickly formed an unlikely friendship, meeting every Saturday at a doughnut shop.

“He would just give me his life lessons, what I needed to know in the world,” said Johnson, 51, of Washington, who added the biggest lesson she learned from her avuncular mentor was “to love with no conditions.”

Mechtawi didn’t just preach those words – he lived them. He ultimately adopted Johnson and her son “in spirit” and gave them support, food and clothing without asking for anything in return.

Mechtawi said he became friends with Johnson’s father, and after her parents died, he felt compelled to care for her.

“I mean she is my daughter, and I love her as much,” he said.

Chris Brandt, a social worker at Senior LIFE, said Mechtawi is always teaching those around him. He often gives her spiritual and political science books to read, and they discuss the literature during their meetings. She is currently working her way through “The Book of Enoch The Prophet.”

Brandt said the UbiDuo device will make it easier to cover more ground in a shorter time.

“I usually spend two hours with him because that’s how much the parking meter holds, and I think what we talk about could probably be easily talked about in a half-hour,” Brandt said. “We might get through more than one chapter of Luke at a time.”