JEDDAH, 3 March 2005 — A bright blue 11-armed octopus appeared on Al-Nakheel beach resort north of Obhur creek yesterday on the shores of a red Red Sea. So did several turtles, a brilliant green crocodile and a chicken with green eggs and other products of the endless imagination of disadvantaged children having a whale of a time under the Very Special Art (VSA) program.
The yearly event brings together disadvantaged children from the Jeddah and Makkah region to explore the possibilities of creative play with sand and color beside the sea. Groups from all over the region, each distinctively dressed in brilliant colors identifying their schools and centers, dedicated themselves to creating and decorating sand sculptures.
This year the theme was a lost chick asking other animals “Are you my mother?” The animals answering the chick’s question, generated by the children’s fertile imaginations, produced some wondrous creations. The 11 armed octopus was, in their youthful logic, perfectly reasonable; a leg made by each of 11 children in the group.
The VSA program has been running under the umbrella of the “Help Centre” organization, sponsored by the Juffali family. VSA is a nonprofit organization that creates learning opportunities through the arts for people with disabilities. We believe that the arts are an avenue to learning and a universal language that all of us can understand.
The program is based on the principle that people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. Nearly five million people with disabilities participate in VSA arts programs every year through a network of affiliates nationwide and in over 60 countries worldwide.
The Jeddah Help Centre runs at least five events a year that are designed to involve children and families in creative activities. They vary from open days to competitive sports, swimming to performance arts.
According to the US College Entrance Examination Board, children who participate in arts activity score nearly 100 points higher on Standard Attainment Tests (SAT) than students who don’t. The longer students participate in the arts, the higher their SAT scores. Research shows that students that participate in school music programs attain higher scores in reading, mathematics, language and overall achievement test scores. Research also indicates that a complete arts education, including dance, music and drama, contributes to improved academic performance for students with disabilities.
The children wallowing in sand and paint knew nothing of this; outside all the academic and social benefits of the exercise, it was just all good fun.
“It is the second time that we have held the event at Al-Nakheel,” said a paint-spattered but happy Sonia Khoury. Working at the center for 11 years, she is convinced of and committed to the value of apparently simple pleasures to the children.
The faces of the children admiring the results of their handiwork attested to that.
“It’s a day we all look forward to,” said Abdullatif Al-Ghulam of the Al-Nakheel beach. “To see so many children who might not get too many opportunities to get out and have fun on the beach just being kids is something special.”
