Needy children to be taught craft skills
TWELVE underprivileged children in Oman are to learn a range of skills that could help them kickstart a promising career.
The seven boys and five girls, aged between seven and 16, from the Childhood Care House in Muscat, will receive their training at the Al Kindi Institute for Fine Art and Craft.
The institute offers a wide variety of courses aimed at helping needy people to develop a range of fine art skills.
The 12 children will attend the institute five times a week for a six-week programme, learning traditional and contemporary arts and crafts skills such as drawing, abstracts, shaping, portraits and landscape.
The scheme is sponsored by Alliance Housing Bank (AHB), the GCC’s first private sector housing bank. “We firmly believe that as a solid and secure organisation, Alliance Housing Bank has a duty to exercise corporate social responsibility and be fully integrated into our local community,”
AHB’s General Manager Keith Scott said, adding: “We are proud to be involved in projects that benefit individuals, particularly children, who are less able to help themselves and therefore must look to established organisations for assistance.” This in turn, Scott said, would have an impact on the success of the wider community. “We are happy to be supporting these youngsters in their efforts to equip themselves with a set of invaluable skills that some may use in the future, and we sincerely wish them well in their efforts,” he added.
Brilliant show by marksmen
BRILLIANT show by Omani marksmen at Bisley They literally arrived with a bagful of medals and, befitting their conquest, were accorded a rousing welcome at the airport.
The performance of the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) shooting team at the Bisley International Military Marksmanship in Britain recently was nothing short of exemplary. The SAF men also won several top prizes in other competitions hosted by the British Army.
Besides winning the overall championship, relegating competitors from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Netherlands and Ireland to the background, the Omani team also brought home 22 cups, one shield and 63 gold, 40 silver and 10 bronze medals. Individual accomplishments included Major Rashid bin Salim Al Balushi winning the Sultan Qaboos Cup and a gold medal in the Queen Mary competition.
Warrant Officer Salim bin Ali Al Aghbari won the British Military Shooting Association’s Cup (156 out of 160 points), while Lieutenant Sultan bin Sabeh bin Oraba won first place in the 200-metre (standing) shooting event, in addition to the Imperial Cup. The proud members of the team were greeted at the airport by none other than the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lt.Gen Ahmed bin Harith al Nabhani.
The welcoming party also included several other senior SAF officers and other dignitaries who paid rich tributes to the SAF team’s successes. General Nabhani, congratulating the team, said the victory was a result of sincerity and hard work.
Voting begins to choose Oman’s top restaurants
DINERS across Oman yesterday started voting to choose the best restaurants in the country. The exercise will continue until September 15 and the top scorers in the 11 categories in the ‘Oman Today Restaurant Awards 2006′ — buffet, café, fast food, Far Eastern, Indian, international, Italian, Middle Eastern, pub food, ambience and service — will be announced later in the month. A chosen panel will then take over and select the country’s best restaurants of the year.
Voting forms have been made available at all the participating restaurants, hotels and at the retail outlets of African & Eastern, the sponsors.
The public can also vote online by visiting www.apexstuff.com/awards. “With the competition getting bigger and better every year, in its fifth year of existence the Oman Today Restaurant Awards is planned and organised in a manner slightly different from the previous years,” Saleh Al Zakwani, publisher of ‘Oman Today’, said at a ceremony marking the launch of the 2006 awards.
“This will ensure that it is a transparent and fair process, raising the standard of the event to even greater heights. What’s new and better this year is that, based on the public votes three finalists from each category will be judged by a panel that represents the diversity that exists among Oman’s dining public. The identity of the judges is kept secret from both the public and each other till after the process,” he added.
The judges’ votes will be collated to arrive at the final list of winners in each Category who will be presented with their prizes at a gala ceremony in Muscat on December 13.
source:www.khaleejtimes.com
