By Adam Ali.
Benghazi, 16 March 2015:
A lack of specialist workers and gas along with blockaded roads and fighting in nearby Leithi, . . .[restrict]is endangering the future of a Benghazi disabled childcare centre and threatening to undo the hard work of a local charity.
A charity local to Benghazi, “Obader”, through its two month-old campaign, “#Mn_Tawfiq”, has provided much-needed equipment for a centre that is meeting the needs of disabled children in the East.
The idea for the campaign came in December after its relief work by Obader led volunteers into contact with a number of families with disabled children in need of support, Obader’s, Fatoom Bin Dardaf, told the Libya Herald.
“We chose to name the campaign after our dear friend, Tawfiq Bin Saud, who was assassinated on 19 September. We started collecting monetary donations,” Bin Dardaf said.
The group decided to work with the Benghazi Centre for the Disabled. Apart from funding medical equipment and wheelchairs, #Mn_Tawfiq has redecorated an empty room at the centre, kitting it out with an entertainment centre and games to help the children to deal with the stress of the recent violence in the city.
Though #Mn_Tawfiq has made progress in the campaign, it is saying that it is unable to continue work at the centre for the time being because of the street closures and gas shortages of the past few months have made it very difficult to transport equipment to the centre.
According to Benghazi Centre for the Disabled Director Fawzi Huni, the centre itself is suffering from a severe shortage in childcare workers, which has led to the withdrawal of 12 children by their families, who were concerned that their children were not receiving enough attention.
“All of the childcare workers were Libyan, but some decided to flee Benghazi when the fighting started last year,” Huni added.
Currently, there are 40 children living at the centre, and because of its close proximity to the Laithi area, which has seen a significant amount of fighting over the past few months, some of the children are suffering from post-traumatic stress related to the sounds of gunfire and explosions happening outside, Humi said.
“We believe in what the disabled centre is doing and look forward to continued partnership with the it in the future,” Bin Dardaf told this paper. [/restrict]
