MAKKAH, 9 May 2007 — The Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) in Makkah is preparing for the 11th annual Prince Sultan ibn Salman Qur’an Competition, which is scheduled to start on Saturday.
Some 80 institutions and associations from across the Gulf region are expected to send 145 disabled children for the two-day competition, which uniquely seeks to rehabilitate disabled youngsters into different activities.
The committee in charge of organizing the competition recently held a preparatory meeting, which was attended by Awad Al-Ghamdi, secretary-general of the DCA, and Abdul Aziz Al-Subaihin, secretary-general of the competition.
Al-Subaihin said the competition is going to take place at the DCA office in Makkah. He added that the participation of children from other Gulf countries will help in expanding the committee’s goals, encouraging and enhancing relations between institutions and associations for the disabled across the region.
So far 1,174 disabled children have participated in the competition, out of which 224 have won prizes and received awards.
The competition has three sections. The first is for children with physical disabilities, the second is for children with physical disabilities and difficulties in hearing, and the third section is for children with physical and mental disabilities. Each section has three sub sections.
The aim is to encourage children to memorize and read the Qur’an with tajwid (the science of reciting the Qur’an with correct pronunciation and intonation).
Prince Sultan ibn Salman is the chairman of the Disabled Children’s Association and the board of trustees of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR).
