World Animal Day in Syria.
World Animal Day 2012 in Syria was a very special event this year. With all the unrest and tragedies in the country, it was particularly important to make World Animal Day into something special. An event where the children could forget about the problems, relax and become totally involved in a different world, the world of animals.
As happened last year, the children were waiting in the same place for us to arrive … in the grounds of the Cultural Centre in Damascus. They were excited to see that we had brought a camel, a horse, a donkey and a cow with us and were looking forward to having the opportunity to play with and touch them.
Inside the Cultural Centre there were more surprises. Each corner of the room had a different art and craft activity for the children to take part in-drawing animal faces in one corner, masks in another, models in a third corner and in the last corner the children could create a design of a Syrian Eagle. Later there would be an announcement that this bird would be known as the ‘Animal of the Year 2012′ in Syria.
During the afternoon, the children were entertained in a theatre where a group of children had prepared a drama about animals using puppets. A girl played music and a handicapped girl sang a song she had made up about her animals. Towards the end of the day, some of the children were awarded for the competitions they had taken part in during the year. The competitions included the best animal photograph, the best song about animals and the best animal model made out of recycled materials.
For the children that took part, it was a day that was totally different from all the others, and would not be forgotten. All of them are hoping to see their animal friends next year on the same occasion.
- Organised by: Darem Tabbaa