Sharjah distributes 600 Arabic books in Brazil
sharjah — The Kalimat Foundation for Children’s Empowerment (KF), a Sharjah-based non-profit, has distributed 600 books in Brazil. Beneficiaries include the São Paulo Public Library, six school libraries and community service centres that host a rich collection of Arabic books.
The books have been provided as part of the KF’s ‘Pledge a Library’ initiative, which seeks to offer Arab and refugee children, and those who live in less fortunate communities access to books. The initiative will help them develop a fondness for their language and heritage even if they are away from their homelands.
Amna Al Mazimi, manager of the KF, said: “The KF has offered a choice selection of Arabic books to Brazilian libraries. This supports our aim to spark children’s imaginations and enrich their journey in education and learning through novels and literature. Children living away from their country of origin have tougher times with questions like identity, nationality, and belonging. Through these books, we hope that students and young readers of Arab descent will experience the works of prominent authors, intellectuals and researchers in the Arab world, as well as works in literature and science from around the world translated to Arabic.
“One of our key objectives is to reach out to children in trauma-affected regions, and nurture their capabilities with the knowledge contained in books. Reaching out to Arab refugees in Brazil is a challenge, given their huge numbers and distribution over many Brazilian cities, and we gratefully acknowledge the efforts of all Brazilian institutions for helping us overcome this challenge by engaging and communicating with the initiative to get libraries and Arabic books.”
Silvia Antibes, coordinator of the library department of the Culture Secretary in the State of Sao Paulo, said the initiative will help strengthen bilateral relations between Sharjah’s and Brazilian cultural entities.
“Sharjah’s participation as the São Paulo International Book Fair’s guest of honour has already been a landmark event in furthering cultural understanding and exchange between us, and the library initiative really adds to that. This is a great gift for the Arab community in Brazil, especially children and young adults who are in the process of learning and understanding their mother tongue — what a boost this will offer to them!
“We are in full support of this initiative and look forward to future collaborations with the KF, which will help realise the vision of the Brazilian government dedicated to promoting cultural diversification in our country.”
A representative from a beneficiary school said reading “was and will always be” the surest path to individual as well as national development. “To preserve our Arab and Islamic identity among expat Arab children is one of the objectives of this school, and this wonderful gift perfectly aligns with our objective.”