From left: Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO, HSBC; Maitha Al Bouainain, Executive Director, Community Affairs and Patient Engagement at Hamad General Hospital (HGH); Dr Frank Fitzpatrick, Director, British Council Qatar (BCQ); and Dr Waseem Kotoub, Head of Pro
Children at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) hospitals will soon have mobile libraries with a wide collection of books in different languages.
The British Council and HSBC, with HMC, yesterday launched the new initiative. Mobile libraries are well-established in many parts of the world and the benefits they bring to hospitalised children are widely recognised.
The mobile libraries at HMC will have books in English, Arabic and Urdu selected by the British Council and the HMC to suit children of all ages, reading levels and interests. In addition, the British Council will provide access to its Learn English Family website for the parents in addition to a collection of iPads and tablets so that children can access educational games.
Dr Frank Fitzpatrick, Director of the British Council Qatar, said, “The Mobile Library is an opportunity to help children and their families who spend lengthy amounts of time in hospital to benefit from the creative and imaginative world of books, whilst enhancing their English Language proficiency. Our teachers have carefully selected stories that will both entertain and educate hospitalised children.”
Also, twice a week, trained storytellers and volunteers from British Council, HSBC and HMC amongst others will approach children at the hospital and ask them to choose the story they find most appealing. Once the decision is made, it is time for the storyteller to begin the story.
Abdul Hakeem Mostafawi, CEO of HSBC said, “ The mobile library project speaks to many aspects of our approach to corporate sustainability by encouraging children in hospitals to continue to read for their enjoyment, education and to improve their language skills. Our volunteers look forward to spending time with the children and help to develop their creative thinking and English skills."
Maitha Al Bouainain, Executive Director, Community Affairs and Patient Engagement at Hamad General Hospital said, “In addition to offering mental stimulation, reading has many scientifically proven benefits such as stress reduction and memory improvement. We believe this initiative will not only provide a great source of information and entertainment for our patients, it will also really help them during their recovery process.”
