Procter and Gamble paints the bigger picture to support children with special needs

Led by leading Middle Eastern artist Katya Traboulsi, children from Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre were encouraged to express themselves through art, as part of a fun project that was open to all members of the local community.

While the children's paintings initially appeared as mere jumbles of letters without meaning, towards the end of the session, their individual pieces of canvas were rearranged to create an impressive mural reading 'Pause.. Think.. Choose', the theme for the Create Heroes project.

"Our 'Create Heroes' project is an excellent demonstration of our commitment to the communities that P&G operates in. The second phase of this highly important project - Special Arts - provides children with special needs in the Arab world with an interactive, educational and most of all fun opportunity to express themselves through art alongside the local community. And what's more, when consumers around the Gulf purchase any of P&G's every day products they are also helping to create heroes, by directly contributing to this significant social movement in the region. Overall, this campaign is a very positive step forward for greater integration and homogeneity in our society."

said Wael Al Jamil, P&G.

Consumers around the Gulf can easily show their support for Create Heroes' Special Arts, as the profits from many of P&G's leading brands including Tide, Ariel, Fairy, Head & Shoulders, Pert Plus, Herbal Essences, Pampers, Olay, Gillette and Braun will be donated to the Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre. The centre works to provide high quality, integrated education services and therapies for children with special needs. By developing children's abilities to function and learn within their environments, that is, home, school, and community, they are able to develop maximum independence and participation in these environments.

"Mall of the Emirates is a destination that brings people together. It is a place where children experience joy as they see the snow at Ski Dubai and enthusiastically involve themselves in all the gaming action at Magic Planet. We are very proud to lend our support to P&G for such a worthwhile cause," said Fuad Sharaf, Vice-President, Mall of the Emirates. "Art is a very powerful medium through which children can express their emotions; it's like giving children a voice to speak out about issues in their lives."

Artist Katya Traboulsi commented on Special Arts and its role in the local community. "Today we have created two truly magnificent things: the first is the giant and impressive 'Pause...Think...Choose' mural that will be displayed in the 'Come paint with me' exhibition later this year," she explained.

"The second is the fact that we have welcomed so many members of the local community - those with and without special needs - to work together, as one team, to create something that is beautiful. This is one of the first times that such an activity takes place in the Middle East, and it demonstrates the overwhelming strength of community spirit and fellowship that exists within our local society."

Mariam Othman, Directress, Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre commented; "At Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre, our work is focused on aiding and changing the lives of young people that have special needs. We teamed up with P&G for this pivotal campaign, because like P&G's Create Heroes, we strongly believe calling the local community to action in welcoming and celebrating the valuable contributions that these children can bring - to make up our diverse and dynamic community."

P&G's 'Create Heroes' campaign was launched with a human 'freeze' in the Mall of the Emirates late last year, when 140 P&G employees froze in situ for two minutes. The first initiative under the Create Heroes banner was support of the 'Special Olympics' Middle East and North Africa (MENA) - an organization that provides millions of intellectually disabled children and adults across the region with sports and athletic training; with 'Special Arts' the second P&G Create Heroes initiative, which focuses on self expression and creativity.