Closure of rehab center shocks Umluj parents

By Abdullah Al-Sumairy UMLUJ — The closure of a center for the care of handicapped children in Umluj has shocked their parents and relatives. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development’s branch office in Tabuk decided to close down the center after receiving reports about poor services there. “We were shocked to see the center closed,” said one parent while talking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette. The center has been providing its services to handicapped children for the past 20 years. Another parent urged the ministry not to shift their children to centers outside the governorate as it would increase their difficulties to visit them and inquire about their condition. Parents also called upon the authorities not to close the Umluj center until a full-fledged center is constructed. “This center has been providing a big service to our children.” It has been jointly operated by Al-Birr Charity and the Labor and Social Development Ministry. “Umluj requires a center for taking care of handicapped children run by the government and we hope the minister of labor and social development would sanction the project quickly in order to accommodate all special needs children in the city,” one parent said. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, Naji Al-Marwani, director of the Umluj center, said the governorate requires a comprehensive center under the ministry to provide wide-ranging rehabilitation programs for children of special needs in the governorate. “The present center could provide only limited services,” he said. "It was operating in an old building with limited space and could accommodate large numbers of children." Meanwhile, female employees at the center said the closure would affect their jobs. A senior ministry official in Tabuk said a committee formed by the ministry visited the center and found its services poor in quality. “We have closed the center considering the interest of the beneficiaries and the children will be shifted to centers with better facilities in Yanbu and Madinah in coordination with the ministry’s branch office in Madinah,” the official told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.