Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) Reads Stories for Al Qassimi Hospital Children & Senior Emiratis in Ajman

“Storytelling” initiative which was launched by the Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) last March 2018 in the attendance of Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Bu Humaid, Minister of Community Development continued its societal goal to target kindergarten and grade one students, senior emiratis in community centers, majlis and public libraries, patients with special disabilities in the hospitals and centers. The national initiative included reading stories for senior emiratis in the senior emiratis center at Ajman, children patients in Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah, a number of people of determination all over the UAE as well as the community centers in Sharjah.

The Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) implemented a humanitarian and social initiative represented in visiting Al Qassimi Hospital at Sharjah and reading stories for the hospital’s children coinciding with the UAE’s Celebrations of the World Children’s Day. Mona Ajif Al Zaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services in the Ministry read stories for children as an initiative to increase the cultural and awareness skills of the children.

The stories which were provided by the community protection department at the Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) highlight different life situations in various environments i.e. home, school, and club as well as interaction with several community members such as the driver, housemaid, grocery shops and others. The storytelling technique depends on using successful methods when dealing with children and achieving the best positive models in their lives.

The storytelling initiative was adopted by the Ministry of Community Development (MOCD) in partnership with the Ministries of Education, Health & Prevention, Culture & Knowledge Development. Several field visits, reading session and training programs for the volunteers were organized and attended by 20 employees in the above mentioned ministries and presented by Moza Mahkoom, Ministry of Community Development.

The storytelling initiative includes a database of all the volunteers from the community members through the participating in the ‘volunteers.ae’ platform. The initiative attracts volunteers to do storytelling for the targeted audience. The storytelling initiative is related to the reading national strategy, enhance the role of the family and community in changing their reading behavior. The initiative coincides with the idea of lifelong reading to make reading a daily life habit in the emirati community by 2026. The initiative also promotes reading from childhood till school years, protect the senior emiratis from amnesia, increase their health conditions and raise up their spirits high.

The national initiative opens the door to broader community participation and also includes the private sector in partnership with the federal ministries to enrich the goals and ambitions of the UAE government.