About 40,000 Visitors Attended The Fourth Used Book Fair a “Treasure of Knowledge”
The Fourth Used Book Fair under the theme “Treasure of Knowledge”, which was organized
by Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) a non-profit organization located in the
United Arab Emirates who aims at providing education, advocacy, and independence for
people with disabilities under the Director Generalship of Sheikha Jameela bint Mohammad
Al Qasimi, concluded on Saturday, March 5th, 2011. The doors of the festival were opened
until midnight Saturday in order to receive the energetic crowd, who came to buy low priced
books and to enjoy the cultural and social activities held in the open air theatre. Children
seized this opportunity to show their real talents onstage.
According to Mr. Jihad Abdel Qader, the fair's General Coordinator, 4 LCD TV sets, 3
electronic dictionaries, 10 dinner invitations to the Mega Mall, 4 invitations to Khalidia
Resort in Sharjah, 3 cell phones, and 1 invitation to Armani Restaurant at Burj Khalifa,
world's tallest building, were given to a number of visitors on Saturday evening. The
intensive presence of visitors was a mere motivation to volunteers, who dedicated a lot of
time and effort to make the event a success. The aim of the event was to raise public
awareness of the importance of reading to increase knowledge and develop minds. In
addition SCHS will allocate the revenues in order to continue the services the organization
provides.
Mr. Salah Odaa, SCHS Sign Language Interpreter, pointed out the importance of this
happening in relation to culture and education. It has many goals such as bringing people
together. Odaa handled the sign language interpretation for a number of SCHS deaf
students, who volunteered to work in festival security. He considers the large number of
visitors a clear indication of people's interest in knowledge and culture. In addition, the
public is demanding for more festivals in the future.
It is Kholod Mohammed from SCHS's Vocational Rehabilitation & Training Department first
time in the festival, but it won't be the last. She supports the goals of the festival. She
thinks the idea is brilliant. Kholod suggested, in the coming circle of the festival, to create
new activities in order to attract more visitors. These activities will target small children to
motivate them to show more interest in reading. Some of the current festival activities
include themes like “Know Your Name in Sign Language”, “Young Writer”, and the fictional
character “Katoobah” were especially there to target the interest of children. The character
was suggested by Kholod.
Young Writer: A Workshop of Innovation
This activity was the suggestion of Babris Abeash and Sandra Hassin from Sharjah Autism
Center. The activity attracted children from ages 6 to 15. Girls were more interested in the
activity than boys. They appreciated the importance of this festival in relation to culture and
socialization. The idea of the activity is to ask small children to write their own stories.
Then, supervisors ask those children about the plot, the characters, and the theme of the
story. English and Arabic stories were accepted. In order to stimulate kids, they were given
small cards with "Young Writer" written on them.
Mothers of the Disabled Board Contribution
Mrs. Fatahia Abu Aqlean, the mother of Ahmed Sheqar, a down syndrome child, was grateful
to mothers of the disabled, who volunteered to work in the festival with great enthusiasm.
The fair has united the community in one activity. The festival aims at changing public's
misconceptions about people with disabilities and motivating parents to support their loved
ones. Mrs. Majdah Hassim, the mother of Ahmed Hussain who is mentally disabled, was
happy with this humanitarian initiative. She thanked SCHS staff. She said: "The initiative is
good and effective. It is a very important kind of charity that serves the community and
raises the value of books.”
Visitors Opinions
SCHS has always been a place for culture and science, but it is unique to provide books at
reasonable prices with the intention of encouraging reading in order to continue the
development of the community. All revenues from the festival will go to support the
services provided for people with disabilities. This is really inspirational. Mr. Mohammad
Shaker, the father of Abdel Kareem who is mentally handicapped, confirmed the importance
of the intensive presence of visitors in the success of the festival. In addition, the festival
accomplished its main goal, which is raising the value of books. He said: "The festival has
several cultural meanings such as redistributing books for those who like to read but cannot
afford that kind of luxury". He appreciated the work of volunteers, who were competing
amongst each other to sell as many books as possible. SCHS is a leader in organizing such
events. It deserves much credit for spreading knowledge, culture, and supporting people
with disabilities. Mrs. Khadeja Bamakhramah, Personal Assistant of SCHS’s General Director,
affirmed that many new charities were attracted this year to participate in the festival.
Chinese residents in Sharjah volunteered to collect books and help sell them. In addition,
the festival hosted two poets from Egypt. A questionnaire was given out to visitors who
were pleased with the activities and demanded to extend the duration of the festival for one
week next year. Mrs. Bamakhramah said: "We hope to host representatives from Arab and
gulf countries in the coming years. This year we managed to attract a huge crowd with
different nationalities. The festival is indeed a “Treasure of Knowledge".