JEDDAH, 9 June 2007 — The Chairman of the Gulf Disability Society Sheikh Duaij bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain and board members from the society visited Help Center, a Jeddah-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of children with mental disabilities, recently.
The visit was aimed at exchange of information between the center and the society and showcase the services the organization offers to the disabled in Jeddah.
“The society is an umbrella that covers all the societies that deal with the disabled,” said Al-Khalifah.
He said there are not enough members at the society and stressed the need for wider participation. “Subscribing to the society with small (membership) fees supports its cultural, social, educational and awareness campaigns,” he said.
Membership is open to GCC residents who are above 18 and related to an organization, whether in the governmental or private sector, that cares about disabilities.
Many experts in the field of special education in Jeddah and parents of disabled children attended the meeting and discussed the services that the society offers them. The society plans to visit many disabled societies in the region.
Deputy chairman of the society, Nasser Al-Mousa, who is one of the two Saudi board members, said that the best way to raise awareness among GCC societies on disabled students is to integrate them with the general student population.
“Their classmates will know more about them in a younger age and will learn how to cooperate with them. Consequently they will pass this experience to their families and the knowledge will spread,” he said.
The society is based in Bahrain and has 12 members.
