The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has pledged to donate SR1million to support the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research, which will serve families with disabled children in the Kingdom. The agreement was signed between Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, secretary general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). “This agreement is an integral step in bridging the gap between disabled children and the rest of society,” Prince Sultan said at a press conference Wednesday at the IDB headquarters here. “This project is aimed to be a complete resource for Saudi families and make them aware in a new way” about the giving disabled children every chance to excel in life. IDB's donation will contribute to the program which aims to connect disabled children, teens and their families with specialists both nationally and internationally, according to Prince Sultan. The Prince Salman Center aims to create new chances for disabled teens and children. “The center is not a scientific research endeavor, but it is a chance for the disabled to work and re-join society as normal people,” Prince Sultan added. The overall project, named the Family Village Project, includes information services about the rights of people with disabilities, centers where families can seek guidance, an extensive medical library and equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of disabilities. “We have made a lot of efforts to break into the hearts and minds of people in order to increase their awareness about disability research,” Prince Sultan said. “We will organize an international conference on disability prevention in March 2009 under the patronage of HRH Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz,”said Prince Sultan. According to a 2002 study by Cornell University, close to 45 percent of people within the age of 3-13 in the Kingdom have a form of a psychiatric and intellectual disability. The study also says roughly 41 percent of 25-60-year-olds have a form of visual impairment as well as a 38 percent having a psychiatric disability. __
