DHAHRAN, 4 February 2005 — 2005 looks to be a busy year for the team involved in coordinating Saudi Aramco’s Community Outreach Programs. In January alone, Community Outreach staff managed three major programs in the Eastern Province. During the Eid Al-Adha holiday period Community Outreach held their Third Annual Fun Day for People with Special Needs followed by a day of appreciation and visitation at the Community Home for the Elderly in Dammam. Additionally, Saudi Aramco launched a new initiative, the Alkhobar Corniche Clean-up, which ran from Jan. 22-28.
As Saudi Aramco’s Community Outreach Program builds up its knowledge base, thanks to numerous successes since it was established in August 2002, its events are becoming more sophisticated and adventurous. Initially, arranging small education programs or simple gatherings were the extent of the organizational capabilities of the Community Outreach staff. But now as the team has grown more experienced, they are hosting some incredibly complex functions.
The Fun Day for People with Special Needs is a case in point. Simply getting hundreds of disable youngsters to an event is a logistics nightmare. But the Community Outreach team took care of every detail from transportation to entertainment. The Fun Day was hosted in two outdoor locations within the Saudi Aramco Residential Community. The girls had the pleasure of laughing and playing in the sunshine at the beautifully landscaped Dhahran Hills Park, while the boys enjoyed a day of athletic endeavors at the Dhahran Hills Soccer Field.
The children hosted by Saudi Aramco at the Fun Day all had severe mental disabilities and most were also physically challenged. Perhaps a third were confined to wheelchairs. All the children and teenagers are residents of rehabilitation centers and homes for the disabled in Dammam, Saihat and Al-Ahsa. It might be assumed that little fun could be had by a group afflicted with such serious handicaps but over the years of hosting similar events, Saudi Aramco Community Outreach Staff have learned that these children are ready to burst with joy at the slightest provocation.
In addition to food, music and gifts, this year the Outreach team arranged for special entertainment to be created for their guests. A show was developed featuring cartoon characters, bright colors, movement and simple dialogue with the intention of encouraging the handicapped youngsters to get up on stage and join in the laughter. It was a total giggle from start to finish. Saudi and other Arab teenagers were recruited by a local event management firm to put on the show and their weeks of practice paid off.
“The teens performing in this show were extremely excited to be a part of such a program,” said Salafa Rafiq, the show manager. “They practiced the different routines for weeks so that everything would transition effortlessly. We also taught them how to gently interact with the children. They learned how to hold the disabled children’s hands and move with them. We instructed them to smile and sing directly to the disabled children to try to make even the ones in wheelchairs feel involved in the activity.”
“Our children love to be outdoors,” said Rosalinda, a care giver at the Al-Ahsa Rehabilitation Center. “I’ve been working at the center for six years and this is maybe the best time of the whole year for them. We brought children from the ages of six to 17 here with us today and you can see that they are all smiling. They can’t speak but they can enjoy. We try our best to keep them happy and occasions like this one are a great help.”
After an exhausting Fun Day with the special needs individuals, the staff of the Community Outreach Program woke up the next morning and went off to Dammam to visit the elderly who are resident in the Community Home there. For many of these aged men and women, life has a sad sameness. A special entertainment program, a bite of dessert and visitors bearing gifts are the stuff of a wonderful day. That’s what the Community Outreach Program provided this Eid.
