These children with special needs in Oman are smiling, thanks to Liverpool Omani Student Society

Muscat: New toys, tools, equipment and stickers are being delivered to children with special needs in Oman.
As part of the programme, entitled ‘Ibtisamitkum Haya’, or ‘Your Smiles Are Life’ in English, the Liverpool Omani Student Society (LOSS) outfitted one of the halls in Wilayat Saham’s branch of The Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children.
This came with help from two teams that volunteered their services. According to Fahad Al Mazroaui, head of the Liverpool Omani Student Society, “The work on this hall took place last week, with help from Team Basmat Al Shabab (Youth’s Fingerprint) and Team Rawasin.”
He added, “We purchased the toys, stickers and equipment in order to enable these children to enjoy the process of learning and to sow that seed of love for education in their hearts.
“This is part of stage one, where we replicate this process in four of the ten centres belonging to The Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children. Of these four, we’ve finished this one in Saham, as well as another in Adhaiba.”
“We hope to cover all ten of the association’s centres, of which there are ten. Hopefully, we can do this, but it will have to come in stages.”
In a statement released by the Ministry of Education, Al Mazroaui added, “Ibtisamitkum Haya is LOSS’s first attempt with this initiative, where it allows students who travel back to Oman for the summer to use their time in this volunteering programme.
In stage two, we will also provide the centres with things you’d associate with school, such as notebooks and stationary.” According to Louai Al Balushi, head of Basmat Al Shabab, “Our work should span around five governorates by the end of the initiative, and is not only about special needs, but children who need extra attention. Children with autism, for example. We care very much about sections of the community that truly need our help. Of course, we only help out where our assets allow it.”
He added, “Now, let us be clear in saying that Basmat Al Shabab is not a team of volunteers, at heart. We are a team designed to develop youth’s talents, but not a non-profit. At the same time, we take extra care in developing the skills of those who work for us, so we use initiatives like Ibtisamitkum Haya as training opportunities for our members to hone their various skills. These are special cases.”
In this particular initiative, our team’s role was in planning and local publicity. LOSS is excellent, but as students who live outside the country, this wouldn’t have come up as often. So our expertise came in handy in that regard, aiding LOSS and the association.”
The Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children, according to E. Oman’s online donations portal, “was registered in 1991 pursuant to a Ministerial Decision No. 19/91” and “serves children from the age of 6 to 14 through a comprehensive programme of education, health, physical and academic services.”