ABHA, 10 January 2007 — A foundation-stone-laying ceremony for the Disabled Children’s Association (DCA) in the Asir region produced SR10 million in donations on Monday.
While laying the charity’s foundation stone, Asir Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said: “Wiping the tears of children with special needs is one of the noblest humanitarian acts in the world.”
Prince Khaled rejected the idea of giving his name to the center while offering SR1 million to the project. He suggested the facility be named after Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chairman of the board of directors of the DCA, who also attended the function.
The Asir region has been selected for the seventh project of the association because it has the highest number of disabled children in the Kingdom. The project aims at offering treatment and rehabilitation to disabled children from infancy to age 12. It will also offer them counseling and direct educational support.
On an area covering 5,000 square meters, the project is expected to be completed in less than two years at a total cost of SR11.5 million in addition to SR2.5 million for furniture and equipment. The facility will have the capacity to accommodate 150 children when completed and will have five departments. The medical department will house reception, clinics for counseling, functional disorders, speech impairment, dental diseases and social services and a medical workshop besides a specially-built swimming pool. The teaching department will house the baby unit, kindergarten, classrooms and psychiatric clinics.
The children’s residential unit will have an initial capacity of 24. It will also have accommodation for 16 employees of the center.
Since its founding 20 years ago, the association has offered free service to disabled children in terms of treatment, education and rehabilitation in various regions in the Kingdom. The association also undertakes campaigns for spreading social awareness about disabled people in addition to conducting research on the causes and prevention of disabilities.
