RIYADH, 7 March 2006 — French first lady Bernadette Chirac visited the headquarters of the Disabled Children’s Association yesterday on a tour of the Kingdom’s efforts to help the physically challenged.

“I salute the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) for its yeomen services for the cause of the handicapped children in the Kingdom,” said France’s first lady.

DCA Secretary-General Awad Al-Ghamdi, princesses and other key officials of the association, received Madame Chirac.

While commending the activities of the organization, Madame Chirac said it has gone a long way toward achieving its goals.

Madame Chirac was presented a welcome bouquet by one of the children as she distributed gifts among the children.

Al-Ghamdi said such a high-profile visit would enable the French government to see the Kingdom’s dedicated services toward the physically challenged. He said the DCA has more than 5,000 children in its network of branches in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Al-Jouf and Hail.

Al-Ghamdi said that the Riyadh chapter of the DCA has 1,048 children on its rolls, the highest among the centers in the Kingdom. He added that two more branches would be opened in Asir and Al-Baha in the next four years.

He pointed out that there are several French-speaking staffers in the DCA who are familiar with the French culture. He said he hoped that his organization could exchange experience with similar bodies in France.

Madame Chirac also attended a reception hosted by President Chirac at the French Embassy yesterday. French expatriates from all parts of the Kingdom attended the function.

On Sunday, she visited the National Museum at the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA) and visited the Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women where she met a number of distinguished Saudi women in the capital and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Madame Chirac was the former Deputy Mayor of Sarran (Corrèze) and is the founding president of the Festival of Sacred Art. She is also the Chairwoman of the Hôpitaux de France, a Paris-based organization that supports public hospitals throughout France.