His Highness Umm Al-Qura University President, Dr. Bakry bin Matuq Assass opened proceedings of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, an event organized by the Security Forces Hospital-Makkah, at the celebration hall, in collaboration with the Educational Directorate in Makkah Region and in presence of the general manager of the Security Forces Hospital Program, Colonel and physician/ Mashari Al-Otaybi, the director of Makkah Educational Directorate, Mr. Mohamed bin Mahdi Al-Harthi and children with disabilities and their parents.

The celebration began with reciting verses of the Holy Qur’an followed by the opening speech delivered by a specific education female student. Then, Al-Harthi took the podium and he was quoted saying “the education in Makkah witnessed qualitative leaps and rendered several services to this segment of the society. The directorate opened, last year, an autism center for males along with a center for females this year. This comes in addition to Al-Amal & Noor Institute”.

A partnership was made with a businessman in Makkah to establish a specialized autism center, worth more than 280 million SAR, at a plot of land allotted for this project situated at Al Umrah District, added he.

In addition, the directorate endeavored to reach partnership with a charity to activate and utilize the city for orphans to be a specific education city with possibility of being ranked as the best specific education city in the KSA, He said.

Thus, based on this, the ministry paid attention to this segment with regard to education. It setup the educational vouchers project for students with disabilities as per which the ministry sponsors disability cases and provides possible facilitation and support to help those students engage in the society or to improve their daily skills.

After that, Al-Otaybi began his word with welcoming his highness the UQU President, Dr. Bakry bin Matuq Assass and the Director of Makkah Educational Directorate, Mr. Mohamed bin Mahdi Al-Harthi.

This event coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with the purpose of increased societal awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities whether in the educational, health, physical, psychological and social sides, Al-Otaybi said.

He pointed out that the Security Forces Hospital feels its societal responsibility toward this very dear segment, thus, it adopts and supports those events which are useful to the society and great nation.

The Security Forces Hospital is part of the network of service bodies that play an effective role in serving persons with disabilities. We participated in treatment and rehabilitation of 60 children suffering from autism who received successful treatment for oral and dentistry problems.

In the same context, Assass, the event sponsor, stated that throughout history of the KSA nation and even the history of humanity, the physical disability was not an obstacle for distinction, creativity, self-actualization and providing distinct services to humanity.

It is kind that an original establishment, like the Security Forces Hospital, shows concern for the disabilities cause through celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, executing several awareness and enlightening programs and entering in partnerships in that regard, thus, I am pleased to participate in this valuable event, Assass said.

He went on saying that rights of persons with disabilities go beyond support, motivation and providing capabilities, as we are burdened with endeavoring to get them engaged in the society to be a normal part, a step that removes negative feelings and helps invest effective energies.

Assass stressed the wise government, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – May Allah bless him – has been exerting great efforts in that regard. In addition,

In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Social Development exerts, together with other ministries, efforts to achieve hopes of our leader that holds out hopes that this dear segment will have a distinctive role in the future of our nation and in achieving the 2030 vision.

The present took a tour at the exhibition, associated with the proceedings, where the health enlightenment section, the dentistry section, the physiotherapy section and the infection control section participated.

At the end of the celebration, students with disabilities visited the hospital outpatients clinics for examination including without limitation: the dentistry, physiotherapy, Ophthalmology and otolaryngology clinics.