AN initiative to raise money for wheelchairs by recycling plastic was held alongside Bahrain’s biggest summer camp for youth.
Awareness lectures on the importance and mechanisms of recycling plastic to promote the concept of cleaning and preserving the environment were part of the month-long 10th edition of Youth City 2030 which was held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, Sanabis.
In a bid to strengthen community partnership, the largest gathering of young people in the country under one roof were taught about issues that adversely affect the environment around us and how to support civil society institutions.
The initiative was led by the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry in co-operation with the Youth Committee of the Supreme Council for Women and Bahrain Society for Parents and Friends of the Disabled.
To encourage recycling, the Bahrain National Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Bahrain National Holding (BNH), launched the Plastic Collection Project in Youth City 2030 under which a number of containers were distributed around the country to facilitate the collection of plastic.
The plastic collected would be sold to be recycled and the funds thus generated used to purchase highly advanced wheelchairs.
BNH corporate communications senior manager Bashayer Dhaif said that these wheelchairs, for children of the Bahrain Society for Parents and Friends of the Disabled, have special specifications as they are intended for people with disabilities whose mobility is highly dependent on wheelchairs with advanced features.
These help prevent side-effects that a user may suffer as a result of using a normal wheelchair, by incorporating modern technologies to provide appropriate devices or adjustments to the devices used to suit the type of disability.
“We wanted a different kind of support, other than just materialistic, and by launching the project at Youth City 2030 we hoped to resonate with the community, and the response was encouraging as seen through the enthusiasm of participants who filled the containers,” said Ms Dhaif.
Cleanliness
“The project, of raising money by recycling plastic, not only serves people with disabilities, but contributes to the preservation of cleanliness, environmental protection and community awareness, and directing people’s attention to the importance of taking advantage of different materials that are not exploited through recycling.
“We seek to spread a culture of recycling among young people and to promote concepts related to environmental protection and responsibility towards them; there is a plan to expand the distribution of containers in order to support the project.”
Ms Dhaif added that the company will continue to support the project by delivering plastic materials to containers even after the end of the camp.
Last year, the initiative raised enough money to buy 20 wheelchairs.
Organised by the Youth and Sports Affairs Ministry, this year’s Youth City 2030 was held under the theme #Bahraini_and_Proud and aimed to equip the younger generation with the capabilities required to occupy prominent positions in society.
The annual summer camp was launched in 2010 as an unprecedented youth initiative in the region.
In the previous nine editions, the camp provided 448 training programmes and 20,480 training opportunities.
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