Journey of Hope team receives warm welcome in Saudi

Head of the Journey of Hope team Jassem Al-Rushaid on Saturday thanked the Saudi authorities for the warm welcome given to the team and the facilitation of its stay at Al-Dammam seaport, west Saudi Arabia.
The Kuwaiti team docked at the seaport, its last leg on the way home, after calling on 25 ports in 19 countries over the last eight months.
"The Saudi brothers adopted the necessary measures to make easy our stay in the away and home calls on the Saudi ports," Al-Rushaid said in a statement to KUNA.
"The journey, meant to bring attention of the world to the suffering of people with mental disabilities, is a complete success thanks to the cooperation offered to us by the host countries including the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he said.
"Since its formation in 2003, the team has engaged in sport, social and cultural activities inside and outside Kuwait with a view to lobbying for more care to the people suffering from mental disorders such as autism and Down syndrome (DS).
"We have held 22 events in various countries during our trip that highlighted the ability of people with mental disability to contribute to their communities and bring people with different culture closer to each other)," Al-Rushaid pointed out.
On behalf of the team and the board of trustees of the Journey, he took pride in their contribution to the efforts aiming to show the civilized humanitarian portrait of Kuwait and the Kuwaiti people.
He expressed gratitude to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for kind patronage of the Journey.
The away trip took the team to Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Malta, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spain, France, Britain, and the United States - the host of the recent Special Olympics, while the home journey included Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
The team will set sail back home later tonight.