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The initiatives are volunteer-driven and fulfil the organisation’s goals in a manner that reflects Rota’s dedication to the values and ideals of the holy month of Ramadan.
“We worked hard to ensure that children of all capacities were able to enjoy Ramadan. We were overjoyed to see these children enjoy Ramadan as everyone else does, almost with more spirit and enthusiasm,” said Essa al-Mannai, Rota director.
Rota invited also children from partner organisations to participate in the evening’s activities and included The Dhreima Qatar Foundation Orphanage, Best Buddies, Al Noor Institute for the Blind, the Qatari Centre of Social Culture for the Deaf, Hope, the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs and the Qatar Paralympics Committee.
Fifteen Rota volunteers were directly engaged with the children, collectively taking part in art activities prior to the Iftar. A volunteer also read selections from the Holy Qur’an, after which an imam offered a short sermon on the values of Ramadan as described in the Holy Qur’an.
Volunteers benefited also from the event as a valuable learning and spiritual lesson though it was held originally for the benefit of the children.
“This is the very first time I have ever worked with children with special needs,” said Osama Eraky, a Rota volunteer. “Even though they have difficulties that average children do not face, what touched me is their level of excitement, attentiveness, and unqualified commitment to the activities. At one point, it felt like they were just regular children. Because of this experience, I can truly say that I now have a completely different outlook on life, and I feel that I need to do more to help members of my community”.