Civil society orgs. urged to support disabled -- official

KUWAIT, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- It is incumbent on civil society organizations and NGOs to show firm support to people with special needs, said Sheikha Shaikha Abdallah Al-Sabah, Honorary President of Kuwait Disabled Sports Club on Tuesday.
She decried the tepid support given to the disabled by some of these organizations, noting that their role in this regard should not be any less than that of the government which does a lot for the disabled. She was speaking at a media campaign on behalf of the disabled, launched by the Al-Amal Voluntary Electronic Newspaper Group in conjunction with KUNA and a number of corporate sponsors.
The campaign aims at encouraging parents or guardians of the disabled to strive unabatingly to discover talents and skills in their offspring with disabilities that could gradually allow them to ease into mainstream society with confidence and self-assurance, said editor-in-chief of the Electronic Newspaper, in a speech at the launching of the campaign.
Further, the campaign seeks to showcase such talents and skills in various societal arenas and gatherings, he said.
In a similar speech, director of electronic media at the Kuwait fire service directorate Redha Al-Salman said the directorate has amassed a sizable data base of the number of the disabled in Kuwait and their locations so as to know how to deal with them in case of a fire at their homes or places of gathering or business.
He urged parents and guardians of the disabled to provide the directorate with the addresses of their homes and information as to the status of their disabled offspring, especially the severity of their handicap. This would help firefighters give special attention to them in case of a fire mishap. (end) ndq.ajs