Culture & Education | Monday 5 March, 2018 6:13 pm |

Kalimat Foundation for Children's Empowerment (KF), the Sharjah-based non-profit children's organisation, is helping to bring the joy of reading to blind and visually impaired children by providing the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) library with 600 copies of braille, audio and large-print books.

 

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder and Chairperson of Kalimat Foundation for Children’s Empowerment, presented the books during her visit to SCHS on Sunday, where she highlighted the importance of reading in expanding the horizons of children with special needs and exploring the beauty of literature.

 

“Reading is an immensely powerful gift and bringing that ability to children who have to overcome obstacles in order to feel its true benefit is a great privilege. It not only opens new doors for them in terms of personal achievements and aspirations, it also helps them to contribute more to the community and play a more active role in developing the nation,” Sheikha Bodour said.

 

Sheikha Bodour’s visit comes within the context of the initiative ‘Ara’ (I See), which was launched by the Kalimat Foundation last year to promote awareness about the issues of blind and visually impaired children and encourage community segments to support their education.

 

During her visit, Sheikha Bodour inspected the city’s various sections and departments where she met with a number of children with visual impairments, in the presence of Sheikha Jamila bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Director General of SCHS, and Mona Abdul Karim, Director of SCHS.

 

The 600 books form a valuable addition to the library, encouraging a larger number of blind and visually impaired children to read the books that meet their needs.

 

“Every child has a fundamental right to have access to books and sources of knowledge, regardless of circumstances and location. We aim to ensure that these youngsters have the same opportunity to enjoy reading and draw inspiration from the books we have added,” Sheikha Bodour added.

 

Sheikha Jamila Al Qasimi thanked Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and the Kalimat Foundation for the contribution, which coincides with the month of reading.

 

Sheikha Jamila Al Qasimi said: “Books which contain elements of awareness, culture and entertainment, would empower sight-impaired children and make them independent contributors to society. Reading these books also encourages them to practice writing, improve their writing skills and write books in the future.

 

Founded in 2016, the Kalimat Foundation is dedicated to providing books and reading materials to children in underprivileged areas and global regions affected by crises and armed conflicts, stemming from its strong belief in reading as the best way to advance societies and carry on with development.