Caring comes with learning

CARING pupils of Riffa Views International School (RVIS) have supported GulfWeekly’s Ramadan Smile Campaign by donating packed toothbrushes to the appeal.

We are aiming to collect 3,000 toothbrushes donated by readers for families surviving in refugee camps having fled empty-handed to safety from conflicts in the Middle East.

Director Dr Kurt Nordness said: “Riffa Views International School is delighted to support this simple yet important goal of providing toothbrushes for refugee families. We believe that the initiative to provide everyday basics such as oral health can contribute to the overall wellness of an individual.”

RVIS, a college preparatory institute which opened its doors in 2008 with a mere 80 students and now stands at 400-plus strong, recently marked a special milestone as its 12 senior students will now be heading off to universities in the US, Canada, the UK and across Asia.

It staged a celebration at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay to congratulate the first-ever batch of graduates amidst boisterous cheers and tears of joy, as reported in GulfWeekly.

And thoughts quickly turned to those less fortunate than themselves and one of the newest school’s on the island was among the first to back our Ramadan Smile Campaign. Dr Nordness explained: “Education is a life-long journey, and I believe that everyone is a learner on this journey. As such, I am committed to ensuring that all learners at Riffa Views International School achieve excellence, reach their potential, make ethical choices, and become critical thinkers each and every day.”

GulfWeekly has teamed up again with DHL, the world’s leading express delivery and logistics’ company with regional headquarters in Bahrain, which has promised to deliver the supplies as a gesture of goodwill.

Bahrain Rugby Football Club in Janabiya has also been acting as a collection point for reader donations of packaged toothbrushes and The Multinational School Bahrain, St Christopher’s School and The British School of Bahrain also received toothbrush donations from pupils and parents to support the appeal before the summer break.

The idea behind the Ramadan Smile Campaign came from Aurora Nolasco, a mother-of-five, who lives in Amwaj Islands.

As reported earlier in GulfWeekly, Aurora, DHL Express Iraq & Afghanistan human resource manager, recently returned from a business trip to the troubled region, and took time during a rest day to visit refugee camps in a Kurdish-controlled area. She explained. “Refugee camps suffer from a lack of resources, one of which is a lack of products that provide basic hygiene.

“They have nothing. A simple thing like a toothbrush would make a real difference as the refugees attempt to get their lives back.”