Berlin Garden inaugurated [Archives:2004/776/Last Page]

By Shaker al-Molsi
Yemen Times Staff
A new garden, carrying the name of the German Capital, was inaugurated on Friday September 24th in Noqum area, Sana'a, under the auspices of German foundation of Hammer Forum.
A ceremony was held on the occasion which was attended by Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi, Mayor of Sana'a, Ahmed Al-Kuhlani, German Ambassador, Frank Markus Mann, the director of the Hammer Forum, Emanual Oidies, the Secretary General of Sana'a Local Council, Jamal Al-Khawlani, and the representative of Hammer Forum in Yemen, Ali Al-Zakhmi.
The ceremony hosted a big audience including children treated in Germany via Hammer Forum.
A number of speeches were delivered expressing the deep and strong Yemeni-German relationships.
Professor Oidies gave a summary on the foundation and its activities.
“It is an NGO that helps children in the needy parts of the world. Its efforts are not based on racial, or religious factors, but rather it tries to help human beings in general,” he said.
He added: “The Hammer Forum has treated some 380 Yemeni children under 15 years old, in Germany whose medical conditions were not curable in Yemen. Another 1000 operations were conducted here in Yemen in different governorates.”
Active in 13 countries, the Hammer Forum has established psychotherapy and intensive care sections in Taiz, and is preparing to inaugurate a hospital for newly born babies.
The German ambassador said he felt happy to see the name of Berlin labeling the garden and the street that runs by it, which “reflects cooperation between Yemen and Germany.” He also read a letter on behalf of the Mayor of Berlin who had sent his greetings to the inhabitants of Sana'a on this occasion.
The Mayor of Sana'a pointed out that the idea of ameliorating the ground of the garden was Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi's, thanking both the German Embassy and the Hammer Forum.
Mr. Al-Kuhlani urged the locals to conserve the garden and teach their children to do so for it is theirs.
“I also promise that more work will be done to develop this garden and make it as beautiful as any other garden in the city of Berlin,” pledged the Mayor.
It is noteworthy that Berlin Garden is located where a pond of wastewater that was causing harm to people and rendering an unpleasant scene used to lie.
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