Bahrain Islamic Bank launches its Child Play Therapy Centre

This day was selected in particular to coincide with the launch of a specialized course sponsored by the Bank with the aim of training male and female volunteers at the Batelco Care Centre for Family Violence Cases.

The BIsB Centre provides all kinds of play therapy for cases of family violence. The Centre will offer its services free of charge for helping victims of family violence of all nationalities.

In a statement, Mr. Yousif Saleh Khalaf, Bahrain Islamic Bank Chief Executive Officer said:

"This is the third course to be offered related to children under the Bank's sponsorship within less than two months. It also supplements a recently held a training workshop which the Bank sponsored in co-operation with the Health Ministry's Committee for Protection of Children against Negligence and Abuse."

He added: "The growth and civilization of any country is judged by what it can offer to those who mostly need assistance and we think that those who need assistance most are children, especially victims of family violence. Therefore, Bahrain Islamic Bank sponsors such courses in response to our national, religious and humanitarian duties as the first Islamic bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain and an institution that firmly believes that the private sector must play an effective role of showing its gratitude to this country and its citizens."

Psychologists believe that play therapy is the most effective way through which a child can express himself and his living conditions. In addition, a child can through play create his or her own world to express his/her needs through the security felt and involvement in play.

Meanwhile, Dr. Banna Bu Zabbon, Head of the Batelco Care Centre for Family Violence Cases (BCCFVC) praised the role played by Bahrain Islamic Bank led by its Chief Executive Mr. Yousif Saleh Khalaf. She said: "The support provided by the Bank through either the creation of this Centre or sponsorship of this specialized course is nothing unusual. We have always been familiar with the Bank's leading initiatives both in banking and in humanitarian activities."

She continued: "What makes such support more significant is the fact that it comes when the Centre is at the peak of its performance and when it mostly needs more material and moral support from the public and private sectors."

"We currently have 20 male and female volunteers, who include 10 child therapy specialists of different nationalities, including Bahrainis. There are also specialists in various sciences such as sports and massage to child relaxation. Since the Centre offers its services free of charge and its complete dependence upon volunteers, we train all the volunteers to enable them to deal with any emergency that prevents any of the other volunteers from attending the Centre," she said.

Commenting on the training course for which participation is open to all with fees to support the Centre, Dr. Bu Zabbon said the Centre has sought the assistance of Dr. Moza Abdulla Al Malki, of the State of Qatar to offer this specialized course, which is sponsored by Bahrain Islamic Bank."

Dr. Al Malki is a child play therapist and has already set up and opened the first major child therapy centre in the State of Qatar. There is also a similar centre in the State of Kuwait. The Bahrain Islamic Bank Child Therapy Centre is the third of its kind in the Gulf region and the first in Bahrain.

Child play therapy is a psychiatric method in dealing with children's psychological problems through which communication takes place by language and play to understand children's problems and to enable them to express their feelings and emotions. Such therapy is also a good opportunity for a child to enjoy the growth experience in safe and secure conditions.

Through play, a child can easily express his own problems and conflicts. It is also a means of releasing his own feelings such as pressures of frustration, feelings of insecurity, aggression and fears.