By Ghadeer Ghloum

KUWAIT: Under the auspices of the chairwoman of the Kuwaiti Foundation for Disabled Children, Sabeeka Saad Al-Jasser, an event was held by Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center on Wednesday at Grand Hyatt Hotel -- 360 Mall. The event honored mothers of disabled kids from Kuwait, GCC countries and other countries for winning Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center's award. The award was established on the Jan 1, 2013 and launched on March 19, 2013, to coincide with the date of Mother's Day. The award rewards mothers who take care of differently abled kids.

The goals of this event are multiple. It sheds light on the parents of disabled people and shows their important role in our society. It also supports mothers' role in the society and presents them as role models, encouraging and acknowledging mothers' efforts with their differently abled kids and bringing mothers together to highlight their role in alleviating differently abled people's suffering.

Speakers address a press conference.

The awards were given to the winning mothers in accordance with certain standards, including the center's nomination of the winning mother, besides that the mother has to have a son or a daughter that has disability, she has to have the quality of self-learning, her disabled kid should not be less than 10 years old, and she has to be known for participating and supporting the differently abled community.

Al-Kharafi Activity Kids Center rewarded 22 mothers at its 8th year of celebration. Kuwaiti winning mothers are: Hanaa AbdulRahman Al-Zawawi, Sawsan Taha Salman Dawoud, Jehan Khalid Al-Enzi, Ezdihar Ahmad Al-Kanderi, Mariam Nasser Al-Khuder, Nuriya Jassem Al-Shimali, Bedoor Faraj Mutabagi, Hanadi Ahmad Al-Saleh, and Eman Yousef Al-Refai.

Participating mothers

Alongside, other winning mothers from different countries include: Adaletkarahan from Turkey, Feilina  Muhammadfeisol from Malaysia, Salwa Al-Shawashi from Tunisia, Marwa Khaled Al-Kareem from Lebanon, Hussah Dakheel Al-Hamad from Qatar, Fatma Mohammad Al-Jaberi from Oman, Kifaya Mohammad Abdulqader from Jordan, Sayeda Mohammad Hassanein from Egypt, Nada Mohammad from Emirates, Faten Abdulbadea Alyafi from Saudi Arabia, Eman Abdulsaheb Ahmad from Bahrain and Shahila Malik from India.

During the event, Aisha Al-Salem, the secretary general of the award, said that the event is to welcome mothers from the Arab world and to honor them for their relentless work without expecting anything in return. She also clarified that the objective behind rewarding the winning mothers is not to favor them over other mothers, but to present them as role models and representatives of mothers' endless compassion and kindness.

Zain Kuwait’s Chief Enterprise Business Officer Hamad Jassem Al-Musaibeh and Secretary General of the Award Aisha Al-Salem.

Additionally, Al-Salem expressed her gratitude to several groups such as the volunteering youngsters and the support of different people of the society, whose continuous efforts made the annual celebration successful. She praised Zain, the strategic sponsor of the celebration, for its continuous support and prompt delivery in various services. She also commended other companies.