Homs-Sana
With the aim of encouraging blind children to practice their identities and mingle with their peers in the community, the Life Skills Team in Homs organized an inclusive activity in the Child Hall in the Homs Culture Directorate, which included children with visual impairments by the Blind Association in the Al-Rastan area in Homs countryside.
In a statement to SANA reporter Bint Saba Wassouf, head of the children's department in the Homs Culture Directorate, the activity brought together about 50 blind and visually impaired children, in addition to 20 children from the temporary residence center in Deir Baalba, and included a variety of educational, recreational and cultural activities.
Wassouf pointed to the importance of developing blind children’s skills and providing the opportunity to communicate with their surroundings, indicating that the activity included “a storyteller, colors, drawing, movement activities, competitions, singing, dancing and interactive activities.”
Samar Idris, director of the educational center at the Association of the Blind in the Al-Rastan region of the Blind Association in Homs, confirmed that the blind, including the visually impaired, are among the most integrated people in society in terms of love of life and the desire to learn about things, pointing to the importance of supporting this group, especially in rural areas, given what it faces. There are social problems related to the way of thinking and the silence of parents when they have blind children.
Samar pointed to the importance of educating healthy children on the need for them to accept others' handicaps, mix with them and be in harmony with them, indicating that the rural area in general needs greater efforts to reach all members of the target group through follow-up and development of their talents in various fields and to get them out of their isolation.