Sheikha Badour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, founder and chairperson of Kalimat Foundation, led the foundation's latest international initiative in Malaysia, donating 6 mobile libraries containing 600 children's books to schools across the country. The initiative gives more than 4,000 students access to quality reading resources that enrich their school libraries, support language learning, develop their imagination, and deepen their connection to reading, knowledge, and culture.
The initiative was implemented in partnership with Kotabuku, a Malaysian quasi-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting reading and developing the national publishing sector, and in collaboration with the Malaysian Board on Books for Young People — the national branch of the International Board on Books for Young People.
Through these partnerships, Kalimat Foundation supported primary schools across Malaysia with mobile libraries, contributing to the enrichment of their school libraries, strengthening Arabic language learning resources for students and teachers, and providing young readers with quality books that develop their imagination and build a lasting relationship with reading.
As part of the initiative, Sheikha Badour bint Sultan Al Qasimi visited Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Bintang Selatan, one of the schools covered by the support under the partnership with Kotabuku. She was received by Adibah Omar, Chief Executive Officer of Kotabuku, and Siti Maziah Malik, the school's principal, along with a number of senior officials from the Malaysian Ministry of Education and representatives of Kotabuku. She toured the school's facilities and library and attended a student programme celebrating the Arabic language and its culture.
Sheikha Badour bint Sultan Al Qasimi said that Malaysia has a long and distinguished heritage in teaching the Arabic language, one that schools and local communities have entrenched across successive generations. She added: