Bahrain

Gulf Daily News
Bahrain
Pioneering Child Care Centre Ready
By KANWAL TARIQ HAMEED

A PIONEERING anti-child abuse and neglect centre providing facilities for children and care-givers will open in Bahrain on Saturday.

The Be Free Centre, Zinj is the first of its kind in the Middle East and will provide Arabic and English language training and support to children as well as parents, teachers and people dealing with children, say founders.

The centre is being opened by the Bahrain Women's Society (BWS), in partnership with the United Nations International Children's Fund (Unicef), with the support of the Esterad Investment Company.

It is the materialisation of a 10-year dream and a four-year campaign, thanks to the sponsorship of Esterad, said BWS member and Be Free project president Dr Soroor Qarooni told the GDN.

The opening ceremony will include short speeches by BWS members as well as presentations on the activities of the centre and the development of the Be Free campaign.

Representatives from Unicef based in Jordan and Muscat are expected to attend, as well as officials from the Interior, Education, Social Development, Health and Information ministries.
Jordanian government officials working in the area of parenting will also be present to see how the programme works, said Ms Qarooni.

The centre will be staffed by four full-time workers and supported by volunteer staff from the BWS.

It will allow programme organisers to focus more on healing and support work, as well and long-term programmes for children, she said.

Most services will be free, apart from specialised training for professionals, she added.
"This was a dream for us for more than 10 years. When we started the Be Free programme, we really felt the need for the centre," said Ms Qarooni.

"We approached an NGO (non-governmental organisation) called the Palm Association and these ladies wanted to do something for the children of Bahrain. They helped us go to the Esterad company."

Ms Qarooni praised the company for working with the BWS "on a human basis".

"I would like to tell other organisations to act as they do."