Dubai The 2014 Diwali will remain an extraordinary one for over 100 UAE special needs children and their parents, thanks to an Indian expat.
Spurred by the thought of doing something more than the usual celebrations, businesswoman and Al Barsha resident Ritu Shyam invited the children from the Dubai-based Special Families Support group (SFS) to her sprawling seven-bedroom villa on November 7 for an un-forgettable Diwali party.
“People always have parties for friends. But little thought is given to special needs children who too deserve a little fun for themselves. This Diwali I wanted to do something different and I was really happy to have these lovely children in my house this year,” said Shyam.
Get the party started
The party took off at around 4.30pm with a face painting session before a DJ joined them with some foot tapping music and took the fun to a new level. “A friend of mine and her daughter volunteered to do the face painting for the children. Another friend contributed some money and helped decorate the house. All in all it was a team effort and the smiles on the children’s faces made us all very happy,” said Shyam. “It’s the first party that my daughter has attended and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Having a DJ was a great idea and the kids simply let their hair down and danced through the evening,” said Anuradha Patil, mother of a 11-year-old cerebral palsy girl.
Pakistani mother Hanifa Saleem, whose two children Nadeem, 32, and Nilofar, 29, have ‘global developmental delay’, said they all enjoyed the party. “The SFS group parents and their children meet once a month. But this time the children had a lot more fun with the face painting and music,” she said.
“I do a number of events, but this was more gratifying than others. It was great to watch the children dance their heart out,” said DJ Saleem who rocked the evening with some Bollywood numbers and fusion mixes.
