Students and staff at The Friendship Society for the Blind (FSB) nursery were all smiles yesterday following the official unveiling of its renovated facility.
Big-hearted individuals from Ayadi Relief, a youth-led humanitarian non-governmental organisation, along with volunteers from the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), have spent the past year planning, prepping and fixing-up the run-down nursery.
“I’m so happy to see how happy the children are in their new classrooms,” said Ayadi Relief’s project manager Jumana Jaafar Alderazi.
“It was great to witness the way the kids interacted with the different kinds of furniture that we have designed, the tactile flooring, the hallways and all the art incorporated around the school.”
The volunteers, school staff, children, NBB management and members of the media and guests took a tour of the facility following a video presentation of the year-long process. Former students also attended the ceremony and awards were handed out to all those involved.
Four classrooms, a physiotherapy room, food hall, bathroom, tactile flooring, playground, garden and party hall have all been given a modern and fresh new look following Ayadi’s hunt for a school to support during Ramadan.
As revealed in the GDN’s sister newspaper GulfWeekly last year, the group chose the FSB project after visiting several local institutions. NBB was also keen to be a part of the renovation initiative and donated BD12,000 towards the cause.
Public awareness campaigns were staged and children invited to interact with youngsters from the centre. Ayadi also held a summer camp in which volunteers painted the hallway and set up the tactile flooring that helps to provide directions for children that are visually impaired.
According to Ms Alderazi, the actual work took about four months but pre-planning, designing and procurement of materials took a lot longer. More than 10 volunteers worked hand-in-hand to ensure the facility received its revamp.
There are now, on average, 10 pupils aged three to six at the nursery that has been operating in the kingdom since 1991, supported by four certified teachers. After the age of six, the children graduate and are integrated into government schools equipped with all the skills they need to prosper.
This is the first time that the nursery has undergone major renovation and Rabab Alaradhi, a teacher at the nursery was thrilled with the results.
“We have all been working hard with Ayadi and NBB to ensure that this project features everything needed for the children in the classrooms and outside as well,” said Ms Alaradhi. “The nursery feels like it has been reborn. It covers all the needs of the children and there is even a storage space to keep any clutter in order.
“The teachers and students are so happy with the new design and we are thankful for all the support.”
NBB chief executive officer Usman Ahmed was also delighted with the outcome and is proud of his team members for all their efforts. “It’s really one of those transformative projects that we are very honoured to be involved in,” said Mr Ahmed. “We have been associated with it for a long time but to see it get a new lease of life and offer more modern facilities for the children is very heart-warming and we’re very proud to be a part of it.
“It’s one of those areas that gives us great satisfaction to also see our employees getting fully engaged and being part of the team effort here. It’s definitely something we want to do more of, to continuously support the kingdom and its initiatives.”
mai@gdnemdia.bh
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