Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa al-Nahyan launches children's reading initiative at Mafraq Hospital

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan launched the "Wanna Read?" (Want To Read) initiative at Mafraq Hospital recently. The Initiative aims to give children in recovery with a pleasurable environment during their stay at the hospital. Owned and operated by SEHA, Mafraq Hospital is one of the leading medical institutions offering quality healthcare in the region and was the natural choice to house the first ?Wanna Read?' Children's Room. The ?Wanna Read?' Children's Room is a colourful, dedicated entertainment room full of books, stories, and games to give children a place outside of their rooms to interact while encouraging them to read and play. It is designed to provide an alternative space that complements the medical treatment the hospital provides with an environment that will foster their childhood while developing within them a culture of reading. Sheikha Shamma and the ?Wanna Read?' team worked with artists and donors who helped to design the room and fill it. They dedicated the first ?Wanna Read?' Children's Room to the children of the Paediatric Ward at Mafraq Hospital. She sincerely hoped that the children will find comfort in reading and promote healing through play while gaining respite from all of the stresses of being in the hospital. Sheikha Shamma said: "I wish to provide a few moments of joy to the children and their families through this Initiative at Mafraq Hospital. Seeing the children come in and explore the space has encouraged me to create additional ?Wanna Read?' Children's Rooms in other SEHA facilities in the future. The ?Wanna Read?' programme is supported by a community of volunteers and donors and we are grateful for all of the support that helps to make this possible." The unit manager of the paediatric ward, Frances Fraser, added that the paediatric unit at Mafraq hospital has 46 beds and receives around 10 children daily between the ages of 0 to 13 years; some are admitted for few days and some for a few weeks. She praised the benefits of the ?Wanna Read?' room. Lee Huntley, CEO of Mafraq Hospital expressed his appreciation of this initiative in supporting the quality of the health services. Huntley said, "Sheikha Shamma has provided a calm, happy and helpful environment for children. We sincerely thank her for dedicating her time and resources to accomplish this achievement."