More than 200 mentally challenged people, mostly children from 15 special needs care centers, participated in the fourth annual ‘Color your pavement' entertainment activity here Wednesday. The participants gathered at Jeddah's Corniche at 9 A.M. in the presence of a number of police officers and Civil Defense personnel. The chosen theme for this year's artistic activity was the sea, and participants drew pictures of fish and ships on the pavement running along the Corniche. “This activity is meant to let the public see that disabled people can do something,” said Reem Gazzaz, public relations director of the Help Center in Jeddah. The activity is part of VSA arts, an international non-profit organization that creates learning opportunities through the arts for challenged people. The same activity took place at the same time in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. This is the fourth year we have held a ‘Color your pavement' event, said Maha Jafalli, the executive director of VSA arts in Saudi Arabia. “The first year we held it in front of the Bugshan building in Al-Balad. The second year we chose Bab Jadeed in the historic district of the city. The third year was in front of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We decided to hold this year's activity at the Corniche because we felt that people passing nearby could stop and join us.” The children were given a rare opportunity to handle and operate police patrol cars and fire engines. Police officers were on hand to guide them and ensure their safety.
