Since childhood, a love for people with special needs was carved in Bedour Al Raqbani’s heart. Growing up with a sister with autism, Al Raqbani never missed a chance to volunteer in her sister’s school to help pupils with special needs.
After seeing her active role in raising awareness of special needs, the school’s administration connected her with the hearing-impairment class. Al Raqbani, who was in secondary school, was intrigued to know more.
“I felt at peace being surrounded by special-needs children,” she says. “Their company takes me to a new world.”
At university, most of her projects revolved around special needs. She wanted to pursue postgraduate education in art therapy for special needs, but marriage stood in the middle and she embarked on a new journey with her life partner.
Shortly after, she had a son and three years later, her second child, Noora, was born. Noora was diagnosed with profound hearing loss when she was 9 months old.
Al Raqbani looked for a day-care centre for her daughter in Dubai, but after failing to find an appropriate facility, she founded Kalimati in 2010. Kalimati, which means “my words” in Arabic, is a speech-and-communication centre that provides numerous services, such as speech, language and occupational therapies.
Original article by Asmaa Al Hameli
Continue reading at The National:
My UAE: Special-needs activist Bedour Al Raqbani
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