Dima Foundation Newsletter 1 (2008)
Friday, May 2, 2008
DIMA Foundation – Newsletter #1 May 2008
Fri 2nd May 2008
It seems no time at all since we were getting married in the summer of 2006 and all of you were generous in supporting our pledge to set up a school for children with Special Needs and Learning Difficulties in Najaf, Iraq. This is the first of a series of occasional newsletters which will provide you with an update on what has been happening with the Foundation and something of our exciting plans for the future.
Achievements
September 2007 saw the opening of the DIMA Foundation school with an initial class size of 12, but within weeks, as word spread, it was immensely encouraging to see the number of parents requesting their children attend the school escalate until we had filled 3 classes. The first two terms of the DIMA Foundation School have now been successfully completed and the number of children we have enrolled has now reached 72 !
Our mission with the school is to improve the quality of life for children with Special Needs and Learning Difficulties in Najaf, Iraq, through educational and social services to children and their families. Over time, we hope to improve the care delivered to children with Special Needs and Learning Difficulties through training to the professionals responsible for the care of the children as well as through general awareness raising within the community of Najaf. A key goal is to prevent social exclusion by providing parents and carers with the information they need to make an informed choice about caring for their children so that each child has the best chance to be cared for in a loving environment where their basic needs will be met and more.
Website
Our website is up and (largely) running, lovingly designed and maintained by our sister, Noor Al-Lamee (aged 14) !! You can check it out at
Local and Regional Sponsorship
Conscious of the need to develop new partnerships to expand the service level within the school and possibly look at opening other centres in other cities in Iraq, we have recently initiated a series of dialogues with, among others, Kufa University in Iraq and the regional government authorities in Najaf in order to explore ways in which they can contribute to the resources of the school. The British Council in the Middle East have also expressed an interest in providing educational materials to the school.
If anyone has any ideas on further collaborations or possible donors, please don’t hesitate to contact us via iraqichildreninneed@dimafoundation.com or on +44 207 700 7882/ +44 7976 276 923.
Training
Our plan is to bring over our dedicated teaching staff to the UK at some stage during 2008 to further enhance their Special Needs and Learning Difficulties teaching skills with their peers at UK-based Special Needs Schools. Watch out for an update on this in our second newsletter.
Upcoming Events
For the most up to date information on ways to get involved with the DIMA Foundation, log onto the website
http://dimafoundation.com/upcomingevents.aspx
Again, many thanks indeed for all your support to date and we look forward to keeping you updated on the future achievements of the DIMA Foundation in the years to come.