Qatar Airways hosted a special Garangao celebration over two nights with airline staff and children with special needs from Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of Special Needs (QSRSN), Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and Renad Academy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the Sheraton Doha.
The celebrations on Tuesday and Wednesday saw Oryx Kids Club mascots Orry, Orah and their three furry friends — Kamil the camel, Faaiz the falcon and Farah the desert fox — joining the culturally-engaging event with the children as they collected treats and listened to stories from the past.
The children enjoyed Garangao night in all its richness and were able to interact with the newly-launched mascots and the community of Qatar Airways’ and their families, further adding to their learning and experience in society and allowing them to enjoy the evening.
The celebration featured a number of traditional Qatari houses and tents, each with a surprise awaiting the guests, as well as a range of traditional games that introduced the children to the way games were played in the past.
Traditional Qatari cuisine was also served in order to create an authentic experience for the children and their families.
The children walked around the featured houses, collecting sweets and nuts and listening to traditional stories read by a storyteller.
The event also included a choreographed traditional Qatari dance performed on stage by children.
Qatar Airways senior vice president human resources, Nabeela Fakhri, said: “Celebrating Garangao is a wonderful way to rejoice in the spirit of Ramadan and to share our Qatari culture with our Qatar Airways family and our lovely guests from Shafallah Centre and Renad Academy. This joyous event aimed at promoting local traditions and customs provides a platform for our children to participate in a variety of traditional activities that have been passed down through many generations. Our event is hosted to instil Qatari traditions among younger generations and to foster social engagement throughout the entire community.
“Qatar Airways is deeply committed to investing in the Qatari community through our range of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and I am delighted that our Garangao celebrations bring families together in this atmosphere, while also helping to maintain a link between our children and our own rich cultural heritage. As the national carrier of the State of Qatar, one of our primary values is pride in Qatar, and we are delighted to display this by providing a rich learning experience and wonderful evening for our guests.”
QSRSN general manager, Amir al-Mulla said: “We would like to thank Qatar Airways for hosting this wonderful event where children of QSRSN experienced an unforgettable Garangao night. This event is a testament to how far we have come as a society in coming together and creating educational, culturally enriching experiences and inclusivity to all children.”
The annual Garangao event takes place in the middle of Ramadan after sunset prayer.
On Garangao, children walk around their neighbourhoods, knocking on doors, chanting the Garangao song and collecting nuts and sweets.
On this day, children are also encouraged to wear colourful traditional clothing to further enhance the festivities.
Qatar Airways is proud of its robust CSR programme.
Last year the airline renewed its sponsorship as Official Airline Partner to flying eye hospital, Orbis UK for a further three years. The airline has been a sponsor of Orbis and its blindness prevention programmes since 2012.
Qatar Airways continues to be a supporter of the Educate A Child programme, which helps provide quality primary school education to millions of out-of-school children globally.
Additionally, the airline has partnered with Doha’s Shafallah Centre, Qatar’s special needs association, to provide special needs adults with employment opportunities at Qatar Airways.
The award-winning airline has received a record number of accolades recently, including ‘Airline of the Year’ by the prestigious 2017 Skytrax World Airline Awards, which was held at the Paris Air Show.
This is the fourth time that Qatar Airways has been given this global recognition.
In addition to being voted Best Airline by travellers from around the world, Qatar’s national carrier also won a raft of other major awards at the ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge’.