The Play-Away Appeal

Yes, it's official! Monkeying around is good for you!

Playing helps us learn about the world around us. That is why the Boys' Brigade (Church of Scotland) World Mission Fund is asking you to lend a hand and raise money to build a playground for the kids of Al-Shurooq School.

Meet Abdullah Mazen Ali Shkeirat.

Abdullah has been a pupil at Al-Shurooq School for two years.

When he was four someone hit Abdullah very hard on the head. He cannot remember who, but it plunged him into a world of darkness and fear. With no sight, his family thought of him as a burden. He was sent to Al-Shurooq School for his protection.

When he arrived he was lonely and frightened. Every night he had nightmares; every day he would shout and scream. Only through love, support and play has Abdullah started to smile again.

Come on! Join the fun!

Al-Shurooq has the opportunity to build a new playground which has been especially designed to help kids like Abdullah. It is estimated it will cost £10,000. Any money we can raise will bring Al-Shurooq School closer to providing slides, swings, a see-saw and a sand-pit. Most importantly, a new playground will bring smiles to many faces!

Join in and:

Experience what it is like to be blind

Discover how to read Braille

Play "What's so funny?"
and fund-raise too!

What is it like to be visually-impaired?

Most people simply close their eyes when they want to imagine what it would be like to be blind, but not all visual-impairment is as simple as that.

People who are visually-impaired are usually able to see colours and shapes, but not as we would see them.

They might be able to perceive light, see around the edges but not in the centre of their field of vision, or see everything in fuzzy shades of grey.

That is why the kids at Al-Shurooq School learn to use their other senses - particularly touch.

Everyone at Al-Shurooq learns to read and write Braille.

How do you read Braille?

a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h	i	j
k	l	m	n	o	p	q	r	s	t
u	v	w	x	y	z
!	'	,	-	.	?	Capital

Braille is a unique language which helps people with visual disabilities read and write. It is read by moving the hand from left to right along each line.

Each dot is usually pressed into paper so that it is slightly raised from the surface.

You can then feel each letter with the tips of your fingers.

Readers average about 104-125 words per minute. Some can read 250 words by using both hands.

So what’s so funny?

Can you work out the punch lines to these jokes using this alphabet? The answers are at the bottom of the page.

Tip: To really experience what it is like to read Braille why not press out each of the dots with a blunt pencil. Would you be able to read 104 words per minute?

a) What do you call a man with a spade on his head?

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b) What's black and white and blue all over?

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___	___	___		___	___	___	___	___	___

c) What’s black, white and red all over?

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Ha! Ha! Kerching!

Why not have a joke competition?

Ask everyone to write their favourite joke on a piece of paper and hand it to the judges' (you can decide who these might be). The judges will then choose their favourites and put them to the public vote.

Think of it as X Factor without Simon Cowell!

The jokes are presented on a display board. Each has a number and there is also a numbered jar for each joke. This is used to collect the 'votes'.

The public cast their vote by placing coins, notes (and cheques!) in the jar for the joke they find most hilarious. The votes are then counted. The person who submits the winning joke will get a prize, while all money raised goes to our Appeal!

Every £5 you raise brings us closer to building Al-Shurooq School's playground and making more people smile!

Thanks

Welcome to Al-Shurooq School

Al-Shurooq School in Palestine helps blind and visually-impaired children learn the skills they need to become independent.

The children at the school are between 3 and 14 years old. All of them come from poverty-stricken areas such as remote villages and refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza.

They have never had a normal childhood; they were brought up under the harsh Israeli occupation. Also, disabled children are in many cases ignored, marginalised and isolated. In some cases, families hide them as they are considered a shame and a disgrace.

If you would like to find out more about the issues that face the school here are some useful websites:

The school has its own website which includes photographs. It is at www.nsfvh.org

For an introduction to the political instability and unrest in Palestine, a good place to start is news.bbc.co.uk

Back to Home Page

Answers:

The Boys' Brigade (Church of Scotland) World Mission Fund