UAE | General
Children with special needs on the fast track
More than 200 children from 42 special needs centres across the UAE will assemble at the Dubai Autodrome today for a fun-filled day of activities organised by the Special Needs Awareness Programme.
Dubai: More than 200 children from 42 special needs centres across the UAE will assemble at the Dubai Autodrome today for a fun-filled day of activities organised by the Special Needs Awareness Programme.
Mohammad Bin Sulayem, president of the Automobile and Touring Club for the UAE, and 14-times FIA Middle East rally champion, will join a team of other volunteer drivers who will give the children a day to remember by taking them through a series of circuit laps, sprints and auto tests.
He said: "I took part in a similar event last year and it was so good to see the enjoyment on the faces of the children. Events like this not only bring a lot of pleasure to the children and their families but also create more awareness of their needs."
The car clubs are providing more than 100 vehicles for the day, and Sulayem will get behind the wheel of two F1 specification models contributed by Renault - a Renault Clio and a Renault Megane Sport. The Special Needs Awareness Programme (SNAP) was founded by Theresa Gobbara, whose daughter, Randa happens to have Down's Syndrome.
The 'Lap with Snap' event today is just one of a series of year-round activities Theresa organises for persons with special needs.
Share this article
More from UAE General
More from UAE
Popular in UAE

-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week
Latest news
- Dance group brings taste of Korean culture to Abu Dhabi
- Africa segment at Dubai film festival
- Campaign to emphasise unity of UAE begins
- EAD studies focus on water security
- Facing battle against obesity in UAE schools
- Abu Dhabi plans to take comedy seriously
- Dubai Press Club marks 10th anniversary
- Visitors flock to see latest offerings at Sharjah book fair
- UAE combats human trafficking
- Ministry denies hijacking of UAE-flagged ship
- Saif meets special needs centre users
- Man says he repaid 95% of amount he embezzled
- Dubai saleswoman claims she was duped, raped
- Female clerk, waiter deny drug trafficking charges
- Gulf health officials slam unethical advertising
Community Reports
-
Help me find my precious cat
Raif, my cute eight-month-old ‘fur ball', went missing in Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen area last month
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas


