Sharjah 24: 276 children participated in the "Summer Friends" programme launched by Sharjah Social Services Department (SSSD), which continues until the end of August, and benefits 5-12-year-old children, and is supervised by the Child and Family Protection Centre affiliated with the department.
Fatima Al Marzouqi, Director of the Child and Family Protection Centre, says that the programme includes various activities that coincide with the children's summer vacation, and aims to invest the summer vacation in developing the skills and abilities of children, and teaching them the importance of their rights in society, as well as knowing how to protect themselves from harm. She added that the programme also aims to enhance communication and interaction among children and improve the quality and type of time they spend with their social environment during holidays and vacations.
Al Marzouqi confirmed that “Summer Friends” includes a number of educational and awareness programmes that are implemented in coordination and cooperation with various community centes and child-related entities within the Emirate of Sharjah.
Al Marzouqi described that activities include 3 programmes, a number of awareness and educational lectures presented by an awareness team at the Child and Family Protection Centre, consisting of social protection specialists, social educators, and legal researchers. The first programme, “How to Say No,” aims to teach children the basics of protecting themselves from harm through several basic stages, including role-play to reinforce the idea within each child and teach them to protect themselves properly. The second programme is "My Rights", which is a legal programme that introduces children to their rights and duties by simplifying many concepts related to their rights, and telling the story of (the little girl, Wadima), who was the reason for issuing a law for children and child protection. The programme explains the legal material in an easy and smooth way so that they know the basic rights, which are: their right to life and safety, their right to a name, registration in the birth registry, the right to nationality, the right to express an opinion, the prohibition of employment before the age of 15, the prohibition of commercial exploitation, family, health, educational, social and cultural rights, the right to protection, mechanisms and measures of protection and penalties. The third programme is "Honesty and Respect" to instill values in children, promote positive morals among their peers, learn beautiful and humane behaviours, respect for parents, and the importance of honesty as a virtue that a person possesses in society. It also clarifies concepts about behaviours that the child understands and are appropriate for him through simulation and imitation, which are considered the first tools of knowledge and learning for children.
The work team saw children’s awareness during the presentation of the programmes and their interaction during their participation in the practical workshops accompanying the programmes, which will help raise their awareness and knowledge to acquire life, scientific and practical skills.
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