JEDDAH — Jeddah Knowledge International School (JKIS) and Braaem Independent Living (BIL) recently combined efforts to address children with special needs. BIL is a school and center that caters to children with special needs and is financed primarily by private donations in order to continue providing specialized education to its children from underprivileged families. JKIS's students are keenly involved in local community causes and often spread their wings to further charitable institutions. Their involvement includes participating in both local and international causes. JKIS students had recently visited BIL in order to kick start a new project in conjunction with the latter. For this worthwhile cause, 18 students from grade 10 had been given a tour of the school and its facilities. Following an introductory presentation and a Q&A session, the students met with the children and their teachers. A small workshop was organized in which groups of three JKIS students were clubbed with a BIL child for a brief interaction. The visiting 10th graders' aim was to get to know their target child, his/her condition, educational needs, among others and follow it up by thinking, planning and finally designing learning instruments for them, from rag dolls to complicated manipulative tools. With information the JKIS students gathered during the visit, teaching instruments tailored to meet each child's potential will be provided. Cooperative projects like these help young adults develop as critical thinkers and help them empathize and become acutely aware of the needs of the less fortunate members of the community. JKIS in the past has worked together with Al Abjad, King Abdulaziz Center for the Disabled and the Help Center in Jeddah. — SG
