The Special Care Centre wants you to buy a brick for AED 5, which sounds like a bargain – and is!

Walking into the modest villa behind Al Wahda Mall that is the Special Care Centre, I’m prepared for the experience to take me out of my comfort zone, maybe even make me sad. But Nisha Thomas, head of education and training and an SCC board member, welcomes me; and with her warm smile and accommodating manner it’s suddenly impossible to feel anything but comfortable.

The Centre was established in 1989 to provide education for children with special needs in Abu Dhabi. The children currently attending the school have been diagnosed with autism, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, cognitive and hearing impairment and developmental disorders – conditions that require very personal and very specialised attention. SCC has developed the kind of approach that is usually described as ‘holistic and psycho-educational’, one that covers all facets of the child’s emotional, social and physical life.

SCC also operates with no barriers, unlike some other charities in this field. It accepts students of all ethnicities and religions, affording them all the same rights, privileges, educational programmes and activities.
The Centre’s team includes six teachers and six assistants, five therapists, and specialist teachers for arts and crafts, music and physical education – all of whom, says executive committee head Reem Al Fahim, go "above and beyond the call of duty", working beyond their allocated hours to allow parents to use the facilities with their children and fielding calls for help at any time of day or night.

The teachers, most of whom have received specialised training in India, have patience by the bucket-load and demonstrate such care it would seem that each child was their very own. And the children reciprocate; when Mrs Thomas enters the classroom she is met with a mix of respectful greetings and wholehearted hugs with little arms vigorously attaching themselves to her.

Aside from care and dedication shown by its staff and board members, and the laughter and energy emanating from each class, what sets the centre apart from similar institutions is its low tuition fee policy. The UAE’s special needs schools are charities that subsidise fees, but parents still have to be charged. Fees for schools of the same ilk generally cost between AED 20,000 and AED 30,000, while the SCC makes itself more accessible to those who cannot afford that sort of price – asking only AED 600 a month (or AED 8,600 a year) in tuition fees.

This accounts for 30 percent of the Centre’s running costs. The rest relies on fundraising. This has in the past involved various events: gala dinners, fairs, arts and crafts stands, and a sponsor-a-child campaign – organised by the centre itself, volunteers, businesses and various groups. And despite the efforts of all involved, more is always needed to keep the centre operational and to extend its reach.

Physical space is the major issue. The SCC is bursting out of its villa; classrooms flank the entrance, small offices are crammed behind the partitioned reception area, each room upstairs is another classroom, therapy room or communal work area. The walls are crammed with students’ works of art, progress charts and educational materials.
This small centre is a little place with a big heart – and an even bigger dream.

In May 2008 the SCC’s charity arm, Good Heart, began the Donate A Brick Campaign to raise AED 25 million for the development of a purpose-built new centre designed to accommodate 420 students – compared with the 70-pupil capacity of the current location.

Why Donate-A-Brick? Because each of the five million bricks needed to build the new facility is notionally costed at AED 5, hence the AED 25 million total. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Commander of the UAE Special Forces, has generously promised to match that amount, giving a grand total of AED 50 million ... if the funds can be raised. The land isn’t a problem – in another act of kindness, over 22,000 sq m has been donated in Al Bahia – and the Centre has architectural drawings and the design concept. It just needs the money.

Dreaming big
The new centre is a vision that Reem Al Fahim, who is also deputy head of Good Heart, evidently feels very passionate and enthusiastic about.
“The goal is empowerment,” she says. “We are about trying to empower these children and, through education, give them the tools they need to become valuable members of society.”
In addition to numerous medical, fitness and outdoor facilities, the new premises will have dedicated units for the most crucial developmental stages of a child with special needs.

Reem explains that the children’s education begins with an IEP – an Individualised Educational Programme – which is determined by an assessment on enrolment. A student’s IEP is adjusted each semester; and at 14 years of age, the students are again evaluated and provided with an Individualised Transitional Programme through which specific skills and interests can be determined before settling on a particular vocational training course.

The new premises will include a multi-functional vocational unit. That will include home economics, woodwork, a greenhouse, a computer lab, screen printing and sewing/embroidery alongside rooms for traditional personal development such as art and music.
Making these facilities available ensures that students will be equipped with the right skills that will enable them to move on into internships or jobs. “We believe that our students should be enabled to be productive members of local society,” Reem says.

The new centre is also designed to service the whole community. It will be open to non-students outside school hours; facilities and services for the local area will include a clinic with various therapy rooms and onsite medical staff, family support services, a health and fitness unit with gym and hydro-therapy, a multipurpose studio, auditorium, library and even a food court. The intention is that opening these facilities for hire will generate income that will help the centre become sustainable.

Getting there, brick by brick
To date the centre has raised AED 8 million. Reem Al Fahim acknowledges that despite the best efforts of the centre’s supporters there is still some way to go. Some momentum has been lost – there are a lot of competing interests out there, some from similar ventures like the Future Centre.
“The economic downturn has had an impact on sponsorships too, with companies’ corporate social responsibility budgets being cut,” Reem adds.

With fundraising hitting a slump, Abu Dhabi Week wants to raise awareness of the centre and the invaluable service it is providing – and which it could be providing to so many more of the capital’s families.
The SCC relies mostly on word of mouth to spread its message – but once an individual visits the centre. “They are a friend for life”, Reem says. Meeting the teachers and sitting in on a class or two left me, contrary to my initial expectations, entirely uplifted with a smile on my face, and the centre definitely found a new friend.

How can you help?
What the Centre needs most is sponsorship. If you run a business and haven’t allocated your CSR budget, this is a more than worthy recipient to attach your brand to.
A whole menu of packaged options are available for specific facilities within the Centre – AED 50,000 buys 10,000 bricks and sponsorship of the hydrotherapy pool, for instance; AED 150,000 sponsors a classroom.

For larger amounts, you obviously get more exposure. The top-end option is 400,000 bricks – or AED 2 million – which allows a business or individual to choose any location in the new premises to carry their name. They will receive a platinum-engraved sculpted brick, 20 VIP invitations to the inauguration, a flag at the school’s entrance, and all the media exposure that generosity merits.

For more information visit www.donateabrick.org or call 02 641 8418