“This kind of bazaars are held annually, and we host them to introduce and familiarize our students with society,” said Mahasen Khashoggi, founder of Abjad. “We also want to give our students the chance to show their talents and let them earn money by selling their products,” she added.
The two-day event was called “Beyadi,” which is Arabic for “handmade.” The bazaar included local talents and designers who rented 51 booths to display their items ranging from fashion and jewelry to food.
“Every single booth encompasses handmade products. Abjad wanted to give local talents the chance to display their items and boost their sales,” said Khashoggi.
The bazaar displayed the products of local designers too, who said that they always wait for such bazaars. “We always try to follow up with any kind of bazaars in Jeddah, because we find it the perfect opportunity to market our products to people,” said Ghada Mufti, designer of home accessories. “I wanted to contribute and market my products at an event for a good cause,” she added.
Abjad center also had its own products to display. “All our products and items are made by the students, and we wanted to display them to encourage the students and show that we care for them,” said Khashoggi. “We usually help them design those products at the center and ask them to explain and tell their stories to the customers as part of their social rehabilitation,” she added.
Abjad is a Mental Health Care and Training Center that was founded in 2007. The center offers varied training programs for girls and young women with a medium degree disability. It also offers social, psychical and emotional training, adapted to the individual needs of every young woman.
“The center also helps girls with special needs to develop their ability to socially interact with other people by directing them and training them appropriately, and to mould them psychologically, socially and professionally,” said Khashoggi.
