ROTA Donates Computers for Children at Hamad Hospital to Mark International Children's Day
- Gesture part of ROTA's endeavour to support education & society
- Children overjoyed to operate computers from their hospital beds
Doha, QATAR, 20 November, 2007 - Qatar-based NGO Reach Out To Asia (ROTA) brought smiles to the faces of children at the Hamad General Hospital (HGH) by donating computers for educational use.
Through this, ROTA has offered the little ones the chance to use computers from their hospital beds - an engaging way to develop language, creativity, and computer skills. The computers were loaded up with children's educational software with the goal of entertaining while educating.
ROTA donated six laptops and two desktops as part of its Reach Out To Asia Qatar (ROTAQ) program, which aims to help those in the local community. The children at the hospital are able to sign out the computers from a supervisor who is also on hand to work with them and guide them in understanding and making full use of the educational tools.
Mr. Naji Al Mannai, Assistant Executive Director at Hamad General Hospital said: "Hamad Medical Corporation is extremely grateful to Reach Out To Asia for this contribution. The donation of these computers will enhance the way our children learn, and interact, allowing all of our children, regardless of physical obstacles, to engage in educational activities. We hope this acts as a catalyst for further growth of the education and learning experience at HMC."
In his comments, David Burton, Manager of Volunteers Program, said: "It's always a pleasure to help the children in their quest for education especially on the occasion of Universal Children's Day that we are celebrating today. The donation of these computers to the children at HGH is aimed at encouraging communication and education through technology, even from hospital beds. We naturally cannot eclipse their health problems, but if we can spread some smiles and work with Hamad Medical Corporation to provide additional educational opportunities then together we can make a difference."
Distribution of technology is not a new endeavor for ROTA, who has organized a host of activities to improve school environments as part of the ROTAsia initiatives. These include providing infrastructure, including technology, to establish a Knowledge Network by connecting schools, faculty and students. ROTA has recently signed a partnership agreement with ictQatar on Connect ROTAsia Knowledge Network, creating access to a web-based portal that will allow ROTA's schools and universities to be "twinned" with Qatari based schools and universities.
The twinning enables the schools to share projects and curriculum, partake in collaborative projects and create a partnership between students, teachers and faculty members, thereby increasing educational opportunities and bridging cultural divides throughout Asia.
Formed under the Qatar Foundation umbrella, ROTA is a Qatari non-governmental organization. For further details about ROTA, please send an email to rota@qf.org.qa, or phone 480 0296.
