Kalimat from Home

A hundred books with hundreds of stories and thousands of Kalimat for the young ones to maintain a cultural attachment with their Arabic homelands.

On Friday December 10, 2021, our team headed north of Amsterdam with a library from Kalimat Foundation that contains a hundred of children’s Arabic language books to AZC Heerhugowaard, a reception center and shelter for refugees in the Netherlands. Through this collaboration with Kalimat Foundation we aim to deliver more libraries, more books, to more children in different locations.

AZC Heerhugowaard is currently a home to about 600 people, among them 100 Arabic speaking children, mostly from Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other nationalities. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, our team spent a few of hours at the AZC, installing the library, meeting and talking to some of the children and their families residing there.One of the parents who was keen to visit the library is Saher Abdalla, a 43-year-old Syrian refugee father whom back in Damascus was a lawyer. In 2020, Saher took refuge in the Netherlands to provide a safe home to his family.

“I was so happy to learn that a library with Arabic books will be donated here, I couldn’t wait to bring my daughter Masa and son Ahmad to visit the library and borrow a few of the books for the children to read later. We are thankful for this gift, having Arabic books make us feel closer to home”, Saher said.“When my 4-year-old daughter Ayla heard from other children in the center that books in Arabic will be here on Friday, she was so excited to come, we appreciate such initiative”. Mohammed Alshamsi, a 38-year-old Syrian refugee father who used to be a dentist in Homs. Mohammed fled to Turkey in 2018 where he stayed for three years, early November 2021 he and his family took refuge in the Netherlands.

Aisha, a 9-year-old Syrian refugee girl from Homs, was so happy to visit the library and go through the books and carry back to her family’s shelter one book in particular ‘Princesses from the world’. “I’m so excited to read this book, bring it back and borrow more, thank you!”.As the year approaches to an end we hope with these books and the stories within to bring colors and joy in to the children’s daily life. For now, a hundred of books with hundreds of stories and thousands of Kalimat.

Kalimat Foundations is a non-profit organization based in Sharjah, UAE, founded by Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi. Kalimat was launched to uphold children’s rights to access books, in particular those from the Middle East region who are victims of war and forced displacement, and those who are visually disabled.