The little ones seemed uncertain why so much attention was given to them on this day of fun, but they were enjoying it nonetheless. They

have cerebral palsy and know that somehow they are different, but on Thursday March 22, 2012 at the Haddah Valley School, they saw that people cared for them anyway.

For the rest of the crowd that attended the fundraiser organized by the school it was a day to support children with special needs and to celebrate humanity.

“The fundraiser was organized as a bazaar to ensure that we got a good attendance in order to raise more money for the “Right to Live Foundation,” said Head teacher of Haddah Valley Junior High School, Karen Al-Sadi. 

She said that many children with special needs in Yemen are not cared for by the government, and that special centers for teaching or staff that are professionally trained to care for these children are lacking.

“We hope the money raised will help them a little as I know they are trying to buy a bus to transport the children to and from school,” said Al-Sadi. 

The bazaar raised around YR 904,410 (around USD 4,300) in addition to clothes, food and toys. Principal of the Right to Live Foundation, Arwa Thabet said it would help them greatly and was thankful to everyone who participated.

The all-day bazaar included several fun games and activities such as the ghost house, treasure hunt, drop the ball, and hit the skittles. There were also special corners for henna art and face painting in addition to book and food stalls.

The children of the Haddah Valley School starting from nursery up to grade 6, prepared songs, dances and even a taekwondo performance for the cheering crowd. It was their contribution to supporting children with special needs.

There was also a special pro-bono performance from Rock’n City and the 3MA dance and rap crews, and a stand-up comedy session by comedian Ahmed Abdulraqeeb.

“These children need our support and if I can and with my parents permission I would like to help, I am happy that through my acts in the bazaar I contributed in my little way to making their life better,” said Shima’a Bamashmus, 10, who performed several dance and singing session.

The parents equally enjoyed the bazaar, especially since there aren’t many entertainment activities in Sana’a. They thought the event was entertaining, successful, and it was well organized and asked for it to be repeated in the near future.

“It was a great way to build awareness for the Right to Live Foundation and cerebral palsy,” said Um Ahmed, one of the visitors whose son studies at the school.

“I feel that children with cerebral palsy should be treated like any other children.  They have rights, but unfortunately they are locked away in their homes and this should not be the case,” said Abdul Rahman Bafaqih, grade 11, one of the students at Haddah Valley who helped with the organization of the bazaar.