Smiles live on

The OHI Group kicked off its Bring a Smile campaign with a novel idea of sending 40 children to Disneyland, Hong Kong. An OER report

The OHI Group and Dar Al Atta’a joined hands to take 40 children on their dream vacation to Disneyland. A week-long trip was organised in July as a part of the ‘Bring a Smile’ campaign that OHI has launched in association with Dar Al Atta’a to mark the 40th year of Renaissance of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Smiles and giggles were the order of the day as the children returned after the vacation of a lifetime at Disneyland, Hong Kong. The children travelled in two batches and were accompanied by supervisors from OHI and Dar Al Atta’a. The trip was organised by Eihab Travels, an OHI Group company.

On their return the children were full of anecdotes about their trip. “Ever since I heard about it, I’ve yearned to go to Disneyland. I couldn’t believe my luck when I was chosen for this exclusive trip,” declared one of the children, voicing the sentiments of the whole group. In between trying out every single breathtaking ride that Disneyland had to offer, the children rubbed shoulders with Mickey and friends and took enough pictures to fill a dozen albums. “But the excitement didn’t end there,” declared another child. The organisers made sure the children had enough time to explore the four classic theme parks.

The children threw themselves whole-heartedly into the Disney Parade in Main Street, USA and marvelled at the amazing firework display. Tarzan’s Treehouse and an exciting Jungle Cruise were the highlights of USA Adventureland. Fantasyland brought all the Disney princesses to life, while Tomorrowland was a firm favourite with the older children, with its futuristic sci-fi adventures.

Reactions galore

“Amazing!” “Incredible!” “Unforgettable!” were some of the adjectives used by the children to describe their holiday. The news was broken to 12-year-old Aliya Khamis by her teacher. Though she was a bit afraid initially, she was thrilled on reaching Hong Kong. “I enjoyed the games particularly the car games,” says 13-year- old Marwah Nooruddin. On their return the children were greeted as heroes. Says Bassam Mohammed, “Everyone in my family is feeling good and it has become quite an event at home.” If there was one regret that all the children had it was the fact that the trip ended so fast. The smallest child sums it up succinctly – “Now I know dreams do come true!”
Maqbool Hameed, Chairman, OHI Group says, “The five-day all-expenses paid trip to Disneyland is just the beginning of the ‘Bring a Smile’ campaign through which our main objective is to give back to those less fortunate. We admire Dar Al Atta’as commitment to reaching out to the underprivileged, and are proud to support them in every way we can. We believe in the power of partnerships, and we shall strive to join hands with all the right organisations to change lives for the better,” he adds.