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UNIVERSITY students in Bahrain are aiming to spread ‘ripples of happiness’ with their charitable endeavours and pick up a cash prize in a regional competition.
This week two competing universities in Bahrain – the Royal University of Women (RUW) and University of Bahrain (UoB) – are approaching the end of the programme and anxiously awaiting their project to be examined.
Both sides have 16 students involved. RUW has been developing an online charity portal entitled Bab Al Khair (the door of good) and UoB’s team, known as 3ambaloo9 (the Ambulance) has come up with the concept of raising awareness amongst the young of first aid procedures.
The aim of the project – run by the Coca-Cola Foundation in collaboration with Injaz Al Arab – has been to inspire and enable the participants to make a positive impact on their communities by empowering them and promoting social responsibility.
Mashael Al Yahya, 21, a graphic design RUW student living in Amwaj, said: “Even if we don’t win, the exercise has grown into a passion of ours; we will keep the website and maintain it.
“We have plenty of future plans. I believe the saying that if you plant a seed it will grow into a tree. We need to open the door to our community, the same way Injaz Al Arab and Coca-Cola Foundation have opened so many doors and opportunities for us.”
The students have been working on their projects for six weeks and are now at the stage of submitting their final proposals.
A judging panel consisting of representatives from Coca-Cola Foundation, Injaz Al Arab and various community leaders will decide which team will receive a financial grant, of an unspecified amount, to support the project to further its development.
The programme also involves different competing universities in Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon and every country will have a winner.
In Bahrain, Ahmed Ramadan, 18, a UoB information systems student, said: “We are fulfilling a need and dealing with the fact that in our society, we do not have much experience or knowledge on how to deal with first aid. We are telling people what’s going on and we are teaching them how to deal with it.”
UoB carried out a survey and found that the five major illnesses in Bahrain were sickle cell anaemia, asthma, low blood sugar, low and high blood pressure.
In addition, they also found high numbers suffered from nose bleeds, heat stroke and fainting.
The 3ambaloo9 team has been attending first aid sessions. “We teach what we have learned,” said Abdulrahman Al Zayani, 21, a multi-media student. “We even went to Seef Mall for two days and performed skits, gave out cards and brochures about illnesses and first aid. We are very fortunate that Coca-Cola Foundation gave us the opportunity to hand out free Coke, which grabbed a lot of people’s attention!”
RUW has already launched their website, www.bab-alkhair.org to bridge the gap between those in need and those who are willing to contribute. Bab Al Khair is made up of three components of donating – money, items and time.
Throughout the programme, the students have been learning a wide range of skills which they hope will ensure they understand the important principles for work readiness.
People are encouraged to vote for either team by visiting www.ripplesofhappiness.com
