Staff Reporter -
Muscat, July 30 -
A mobile application has been launched to promote reading and speed up children’s response to treatment at the hospital. The Royal Hospital Kids app offers hundreds of interactive stories that children can listen to and read as well as educational games.
Dr Ibrahim al Ghaithi, Head of Paediatric Hematology and Oncology, explained that the Children’s Library application was a dream for many children and their families. Reading is one of the easiest and most enjoyable hobbies that children can maintain during their treatment. Many children and their families enjoy reading for leisure, and stories are an inspiration to many people. Dr Al Ghaithi said that the medical staff hopes that the application will include some educational curricula in the future so that children can continue their studies while in the hospital.
He also praised the role of Ara Petroleum Company, one of the Al Zubair Group companies, for funding the application for the departments of Hematology and Oncology at the Royal Hospital.
Osama al zadjali, Communication and Corporate Affairs Manager of Ara Petroleum, said: “The energy companies are distinguished by their contribution to various charitable projects. The children of the Department of Oncology and Hematology at the Royal Hospital are receiving our focus this year. This is in the interest of the health of today’s children, who are the pillars of our society of tomorrow, and the youth of the future. The idea of this application, keeping up with modern technologies while contributing to drawing smiles on children’s faces, and in the development of reading skills as well, is one of our priorities.
Each child in the hospital will be able to download the RH application free of charge from the Apple App Store or Google Play. They can then scan the login code that’s found on a sticker on the hospital bed to enjoy hundreds of stories that have been selected specifically for different subjects and age levels. The application is supported by Nahla wa Nahil, a system designed to develop the love of Arabic reading for children through a variety of features that generate enthusiasm and add fun for children.
Al Manhal, part of TechKnowledge General Trading based in the United Arab Emirates, designed the reading application to help children to bear and overcome the stages of treatment.
Mohamed al Baghdadi, Chairman of TechKnowledge, said: “We are very pleased with the presence of institutions that support and are interested in providing such solutions to all who need them. The idea of offering free reading to sick children was a long-standing idea. We were introduced to similar experiences in large international hospitals and we dreamed of presenting the idea within a technological innovation framework that is in line with the technological development of our children.”
“So, based on our partnership with the Royal Hospital, we decided to present the idea of the project to them, which received great attention from the management of the hospital, and to launch the application with the magnificent efforts of all the concerned parties.”
Nahla wa Nahil is the first platform for reading and understanding in Arabic for children between 4 and 11 years of age. It includes hundreds of books grouped by age level, published by leading educational publishing houses in the Middle East. The books are also available as audio books using advanced technologies to help children with correct pronunciation.
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