JEDDAH: A campaign encouraging people to learn sign language will kick off for the first time in the Kingdom on July 3. The campaign, which will start in Jeddah, involves a series of training sessions and will be attended by over 5,000 people.

Faizah Natto, president of the Society for the Visually and Auditory Impaired, said the aim of the campaign is to help involve disabled people with the wider community. She said the hearing impaired visit government departments, hospitals and banks, and therefore employees in such institutions should be able to communicate via sign language.

The training sessions, she said, would be carried out over two weeks at different places in Jeddah. She added that once Jeddah is covered, the campaign would, as a second step, move to other Saudi cities. “We have set up a schedule for the course. We started with Jeddah’s 42 health centers,” said Natto.

The campaign, added Natto, is being held to help the auditory impaired interact with the wider community. The society has also trained sign language interpreters of both genders to help such people. The campaign is being held with the support of Princess Sita. Cars marked with signs, “Learn Sign Language, Interact with Deaf People Skillfully,” will drive around Jeddah as part of the campaign.