SHARJAH, 26th April, 2017 (WAM) -- The Kalimat Foundation for Children’s Empowerment has launched ‘Ara’, an initiative which aims to promote awareness about children who are visually impaired and who live with sight deficiency. The Sharjah-based non-profit children’s organisation that empowers children with humanitarian and cultural aid conceived of the initiative to encourage all segments of society to support the education of those with special challenges.

Launched during the ninth edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, SCRF 2017, ‘Ara’ seeks to highlight the experience of the visually impaired and bring attention to the ways that they perceive the world around them. The ‘Ara’ initiative will be distributing 30,000 copies of a collection of selected books which are divided into three categories, large print, audio books and Braille books.

"We have launched the ‘Ara’ initiative in line with the directives of Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Founder of the Kalimat Foundation for Children's Empowerment, through which we aim to highlight the challenges facing children with visual impairment, including total loss of sight. We also want to show how we as a community can meet these challenges through the provision of special reading and educational materials designed specifically for visually impaired children," said Amna Al Mazmi, Manager of the foundation.

"Statistics indicate that there are 22 million people with visual problems in the MENA region, with the majority of these being children. One of the main challenges they face is in the area of education because of a paucity of suitable material that enables them to read. These young people need our full support, advocacy and solidarity and most importantly looking for practical and effective solutions that empower them to engage with the educational process the same as their sighted peers," Al Mazmi added.

"If we examine the 'differently-abled' publishing sector, we can see that there is a lack of suitable material for those with visual problems. This is why we decided to launch this initiative during SCRF, as the festival brings together educators, experts and publishers of children’s literature who can partner with us and contribute to supporting kids who need dedicated educational methodologies and systems," she concluded.