Children sell crafts and baked food to raise funds for special needs peers

AMMAN — Dozens of children this weekend put their handcrafting and baking skills to use, raising funds to support children with special needs from the Sana for Special Individuals organisation. 

Held at the Glow Golf Amman, the Kid's Bazaar aimed at raising awareness of mental disabilities by getting children directly involved in solidarity activities.

"The children did everything themselves, without the help of their parents, and it was very interesting to see how much time and effort they put into making food and handicrafts and then marketing them to the public," said Ramez Sabanekh, a board member at SANA.

Children from 6 to 16 years old displayed their creations to visitors, collecting money to be used to "bring hope" to their peers with special needs, the organisers said. 

"This bazaar was a great chance for children and teenagers to give help to more unfortunate children by doing a selfless action that will help in improving their daily lives," Sabanekh told The Jordan Times. 

"This event was also an opportunity to communicate on the issue of mental disabilities, which is much lesser known than physical disabilities, especially among children," he added, noting that each participating child had his/her own view about the issue prior to the event

Founded in 2010, Sana For Special Individuals works to better the lives of families of children with intellectual disabilities by providing them with scholarships, job placements and support groups. 

"Integration of our children into society — be it in schools, supermarkets or play areas — is a challenge, since our kids are often not accepted or are faced with pity or judgment," said Serene Qubein Qushair, board member at SANA, adding "raising awareness is an integral part in facing this challenge; when we raise awareness among children about different abilities, it creates lifelong acceptance".

"These children learned more about why money is needed to help their peers with mental disability, for instance to access special services in the fields of education and health, among others," Sabanekh explained, highlighting that children were "very eager to market their products to raise as many funds as possible".

While he said the money collected during the event was "not significant", he stressed that "the significance was in the gesture, not in the amount of money". 

The human impact of the event was also highlighted by Glow Golf Amman managing director, Deema Abdul Jawad, who said she supported the organisation to help people with special needs gain visibility and support from other groups of society.

"Every month, we organise a special event at our venue. Last year, we supported SOS Villages Jordan and this year, I wanted to help the children and families of SANA with this bazaar," she told The Jordan Times.

For Qubein Qushair, who voiced the organisation's honour and joy in collaborating with Glow Golf Jordan, "this child-driven initiative was an amazing opportunity to raise awareness about intellectual disability in society".