RIYADH, 1 October — Prince Faisal ibn Salman, chairman of Saudi Research and Marketing Group, yesterday reaffirmed SRMG’s support for Disabled Children Association’s humanitarian activities.
In a statement after signing an agreement for cooperation between SRMG and DCA, he commended the advanced and comprehensive services being rendered to handicapped children by the association. .Under the agreement, which takes immediate effect, SRMG will provide advertising and media services to DCA and to Prince Salman Center for Disability Research (PSCDR) for the next five years.
SRMG will provide advertising services worth SR5 million to DCA and SR2.5 million to PSCDR during the period. It will also distribute DCA’s Al-Khatwa magazine free of charge.
The agreement was signed by Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chairman of the association, and Prince Faisal. Prince Sultan said that the accord would help educate the people about the problems being faced by the country’s disabled children.
He said DCA’s tie-up with the leading publishing house in the region would focus more on how to integrate disabled children into mainstream society.
DCA is also working to reorganize its activities, decentralize management and build international partnerships, the chairman said. It has also set up an endowment fund.
Prince Faisal commended Prince Sultan’s efforts in the service of disabled children as well as the government’s support for this section of society.
He said the late Prince Ahmad ibn Salman, former chairman of SRMG, had wished to renew the agreement with DCA, which the late prince first signed on Dec. 10, 1996.
“Prince Ahmad had also agreed to sign a cooperation agreement with PSCDR to serve the center’s objectives, enlighten the society on issues pertaining to the handicapped and promote its scientific projects and research,” the SRMG chief said.
Prince Sultan said he was looking forward to setting up a DCA chapter in Hail. DCA has already set up four chapters in Makkah, Jeddah, Madinah and Al-Jouf, where a large number of children have been admitted for treatment.
The move to open new centers for disabled children is significant in view of the fact that 10 to 15 percent of the Saudi population is suffering from one disability or other, according to Dr. Stephen R. Schroeder, PSCDR’s executive director.
Out of this, nearly 18 percent suffer from disabilities because of genetic factors which is much higher than anywhere else in the world, he said.
