A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the Bahraini and Jordanian branches of the Red Crescent Society and Operation Childlife with RSCI Bahrain. The signing ceremony took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrain Bay on the 16th of November. The partnership was agreed as a result of the signatories’ desire to encourage greater participation in charitable activities which will benefit communities and help those most in need.

The ceremony was held under the patronage of His Excellency Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure. In attendance were; the Minister of Health, Her Excellency Dr Jaleela bint Alsayed Jawad Hasan; Mr Mubarak AlHadi, General Secretary of the BRCS; His Excellency Dr Mohammed Al Hadid, President of the JNRCS; Professor Sameer Otoom, President of RCSI Bahrain as well as several members of the Higher Education Council. 

The MoU will provide opportunities for members of RSCI Bahrain’s student body and faculty to get involved in volunteering activities under the auspices of Operation Childlife and the Bahraini and Jordanian branches of the Red Crescent Society. RSCI Bahrain is one of the region’s leading medical and science universities, with its students and staff uniquely qualified to help communities through a varied programme of voluntary work. RSCI Bahrain has a proud history of community engagement since its foundation and the partnership will ensure that nursing and medical students, scientists and academics are able to complement the work they perform at the university by volunteering and applying their extensive medical knowledge to worthy causes.

Professor Sameer Otoom, President of RCSI Bahrain expressed his satisfaction with the partnership saying; “We are delighted to sign this agreement with these charitable organisations through providing healthcare assistance to refugees from the Middle East and consolidating the university’s network of community partners.Through this new collaboration, our students and staff will have the opportunity to participate in various volunteering activities and we look forward to seeing their contributions and the positive impact our collaboration will bring to communities throughout the region.”

“Students and staff from the university will be able to take their learnings and knowledge attained from academic and medical settings and apply it to some of the most deserving communities from the Middle East. The benefit, for patients, of this medical assistance will be considerable – while it will also provide invaluable real-world experience for the volunteers,” concluded Professor Otoom.