RIYADH, 25 September 2007 - A Saudi company is to build a center for mentally retarded children in Sri Lanka and has agreed to offer SR500,000 for the project.
Jiffry Haniffa, leader of a delegation from the Islamic Center for Physically Handicapped (ICPH) in Doolmala, Sri Lanka, who is currently on a visit to the Kingdom, told Arab News that the Al-Zamil Group has agreed to give SR500,000 to help mentally retarded Muslim children on the island.
Haniffa, who called on the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) Secretary-General Saleh Al-Wohaibi yesterday, said that that WAMY agreed to supervise the construction of the project, which would be built at the ICPH headquarters in Thihariya.
The center recently established a wing to take care of mentally challenged children. The wing currently has 50 children, including eight boys. At least 500 children are waiting enrollment.
The delegation, which is scheduled to meet Dr. Saleh Al-Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council, will also seek the participation of local investors for the construction of income-generating projects to fund the ICPH's day-to-day operations.
The center, which Haniffa started in May 1984 with just five disabled students and a teacher, now has 36 teachers, and 250 children, including 50 girls, between the age of five and 17. The center is an honorary member of the Riyadh-based Islamic World Council for Disability and Rehabilitation that works under the support of Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Every year, 25 children who pass out from the center are given jobs in both the government and private sectors. Boys are trained in gem cutting, tailoring, printing, carpentry, dental technology and baking, while girls get training in jewelry making, home science and cookery, said Haniffa.
Haniffa said the Iqra Charitable Society and the Muslim World League (MWL) are among the organizations regularly contributing funds to the center.
