Dubai: Jalal Bin Thaneya’s 5,000km cycling expedition across the Gulf countries has a single purpose — to raise awareness about Al Jalila Foundation, a Dubai-based non-profit organisation.
The foundation is, apart from fulfiling its other philanthropic goals, helping parents, teachers and others to care for children with special needs. The foundation’s CEO, Dr Abdul Kareem Al Olama, shared his aspirations about the cause.
Do you feel there needs to be more awareness about children with special needs?
This is a cause that requires all the support available to keep people reminded of the importance of helping those children as well as the benefits of working towards an inclusive society which leverages their talent.
We, at Al Jalila Foundation, are committed to transforming lives through supporting the development of world-class medical research capabilities; and children with special needs is an area where we hope to make that transformation in the future.
Are you hopeful this mission will raise awareness?
We salute Jalal’s efforts and passion, and thank him for choosing to support Al Jalila Foundation through his noble mission, which will set a record in both sports and philanthropy.
We are confident that Jalal will be able to draw the attention of communities in the UAE and the region to the significance of this cause and how together we can give children with special needs a chance to become a productive part of the community.
How does the foundation provide support to children with special needs?
Al Jalila Foundation is committed to supporting children with special needs and is doing so in several ways. Our flagship programme, which Jalal is promoting as part of his tour, is Ta’alouf. This programme is part of our commitment to fostering a unified and inclusive society where parents, educators, strategic partners and the wider community work together to empower children with disabilities.
The first training course under the programme targeted parents of children with special needs. It is being conducted in collaboration with the British University in Dubai (BUiD) and is designed and led by Professor Eman Gaad, dean of Faculty of Education and the Head of the Doctoral Programme at BUiD.
The training enables parents to complement the efforts of educators and caregivers.
So far the interest in the programme has been outstanding, and Al Jalila Foundation has committed to providing training for 400 parents of all nationalities over a period of four years.
The second phase of the programme will target teachers to ensure the children with special needs get best practice care in school too.
