Dima Foundation Newsletter 4 (2011)
Monday, November 21, 2011
DIMA Foundation – Newsletter #4 November 2011
Mon 21st November 2011
This is the fourth of a series of annual newsletters to thank you for your continued support and provide you with an update on this year’s events at the DIMA Foundation – a school for children with Special Needs and Learning Difficulties in Najaf, Iraq.Dima Foundation Newsletter 4 (2011)
2011 Update
Since the opening of the Dima Foundation school in September 2007, the school has grown steadily and now has 100 regular pupils with 6 teachers, 2 teaching assistants and 1 porter working at the school.
The school year ended in June with a graduation ceremony for all the students in which each student was presented with new reading books, colouring books and pens.
With the increased student intake in 2011, the school governors decided that another primary school class was required; this was opened in September 2011. There are now a total of 5 classes, composed of 4 classes in year 1, and 1 class in year 2.
Fundraising in the UK
In 2011 the Dima Foundation was the fortunate recipient of a generous donation from the Kubba Foundation, a non-governmental organisation which aims to fund and manage health and education projects in Iraq. Thanks to this grant we were able to buy new desks for all 5 classrooms in the school and an electricity generator which has been invaluable in providing a constant power supply in spite of the ongoing regular power cuts in Najaf.
During Ramadan 2011, the Dima Foundation was the beneficiary charity of all the proceeds raised at a dinner in central London organised by the Iraqi Youth Organisation. The evening was a great success and allowed us to raise valuable funds while raising the profile of the charity and has resulted in the promise of future contributions from more events in 2012. The money raised will mean that we will be able to open a fully equipped arts and crafts classroom in 2012 allowing the children to develop artistic skills.
Many of the students at the school are wheelchair-bound; however some of the wheelchairs were in serious need of repair or replacement. Due to a fantastic contribution from one of our trustees, Ferrie Al-Chalabi, we were able to purchase new wheelchairs for 2 of the students.
UK visit by Head Supervisor
Our head school governor, Anwar Abdul Wahab, was able to visit the UK in November of this year and took the opportunity to visit West Oaks School for children with special needs in West Yorkshire in October 2011. This experience offered a chance for Anwar to compare and contrast methods being used for special needs teaching in the UK and Iraq and gave her some opportunities to ask questions of the UK teachers of their experiences.
Regular contributors
As always we greatly appreciate all your support and would like to thank and acknowledge all those who continue to contribute to the Dima Foundation especially our fellow trustees and contributors and our regular contributors. We would also like to thank Dr. Faisal Motashar and the student members of the Islamic Society at The Grammar School at Leeds for their regular fund-raising activities and contributions to our charity.
Website
Our website continues to be regularly updated with new information and photos at :
Plans for 2012
As the school continues to grow, 2 new mobile classrooms will be opened in 2012 to accommodate the students.
Upcoming Events
For the most up to date information on ways to get involved with the DIMA Foundation, log onto the website:
As always, many thanks for all your support to date and we look forward to letting you know all the continued news of future progress and developments of the DIMA Foundation in the coming years.