Saudi Gazette

THE Al-Noor Institute of the Blind in Makkah was established in 1962 by the directorate of education in the province to provide education, training, care and recreational services to children with vision impairments. The institute serves students of all grades and currently has 71 children, 35 in elementary school, 17 in middle school and 19 in secondary school.

The institute boasts state-of-the-art educational facilities such as a computer lab, which is equipped with talking programs designed specifically for the blind. In addition, it has an English language lab, art education, mathematics and science labs, halls with sources of learning and rooms for athletics.

The students are transported to and from the institute using special school buses and are provided with free snacks in the morning on school days.

The students participated in the International White Cane Day and the International Day of Disabled Persons for six years in a row. They also took part in different activities such as contests, trips, seminars, sports and cultural events (public speaking and improvisation), Holy Qur’an memorization contests, lectures and excursions. They participated in outdoors games such as football and weightlifting in Al-Baha province.

Muhammad Al-Harthy, director of education in Makkah region, praised the painstaking efforts exerted by the institute’s teachers and management to provide the students with high-quality services.

A group of German blind students who visited the institute recently spoke highly of the facilities provided to the students.

The head of the group who runs an institute for the blind in Germany was impressed with the equipment and facilities. He described them as "the most modern and highly practical."