Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj
Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj/node/1359076/saudi-arabia
Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj
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There are special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque. (SPA)
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A Muslim pilgrim pushes an elderly woman on a wheelchair outside the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah on August 16, 2018, prior to the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city. (AFP)
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There are also special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque. (SPA)
Special services to aid pilgrims with special needs during Hajj
These guides provide clarification for issues concerning Hajj, Umrah, and the Qur’an in Braille language format
There are special vehicles for those who need to be transported from the Holy Mosque
Updated 20 August 2018
Hussam Al Mayman | Arab News
MAKKAH: The General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques has begun services to aid pilgrims with special needs during this year’s Hajj season. Among these services is a small talking watch for the visually impaired. These watches tell the time and prayer times via audio alerts.
Other services provided by the Presidency’s special needs department are allocated entrances to ease access to prayers. These are gates 63 and 68, which were built during the expansion period of the late King Fahd.
There are also specialized paths for pilgrims with disabilities in mobility and the visually impaired with their own dedicated entrances.
Other provisions include a pen that serves as a Qur’an reader for the visually impaired and elderly, and a service for holding and carrying copies of the Qur’an for those who are unable to hold them.
Another service is the distribution of canes for the blind and visually impaired to help guide their path while walking.
A device that assists in Tayamom (dry ablution) is also available.
The special needs unit will also distribute booklets on how to perform Umrah and Hajj, along with guides who can show guests how to pray and explain important rituals to be performed.
Jeddah students get closer look at electric motorsport
A PIF-linked initiative highlights technical and engineering careers behind electric racing events
Updated 24 January 2026
SALEH FAREED
JEDDAH: Students from local and international schools in Jeddah were introduced to STEM-related career pathways in electric motorsport this week, as part of an education program linked to the UIM E1 World Championship held on the Red Sea.
The sessions formed part of Driving Force Presented by the Public Investment Fund, an initiative run by Formula E and its electric racing series partners, to familiarize students aged eight to 18 with science, technology, engineering and mathematics through electric racing and sustainability-focused industries.
The sessions for students formed part of Driving Force Presented by the Public Investment Fund, an initiative run by Formula E and its electric racing series partners. (Supplied)
The programme took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access designed to show how engineering, data, broadcast technology and event operations function within professional motorsport.
According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The program took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access.
• Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
• According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
John Williams, managing director at E1, told Arab News: “The PIF is absolutely vital to everything we do here at the E1. They were crucial initial investment partner since the start of the championship and they continue to support us in a number of ways and more specifically around the Driving Force program.”
The sessions for students formed part of Driving Force Presented by the Public Investment Fund, an initiative run by Formula E and its electric racing series partners. (Supplied)
Elaborating more on the program, he said: “What we are doing is presenting and showing these students the available careers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as careers in sports, not only pilots but also engineers and mechanics.”
Williams added that the main key to the program was bringing a new generation to the mechanism of sport.
“We are introducing to these exciting new technologies around the race but it could be our technology on the boat or our broadcast products, as well as how to manage the event its self. There are a range of opportunities to show it to the children in addition to enjoying the excitement of the race and meeting the pilots.”
The program’s Jeddah activities began at King Abdulaziz University’s faculty of maritime studies, where students took part in a hands-on workshop focused on STEM careers in the motorsport and sustainability areas conducted by technology experts and famous water pilots such as Dani Clos, Emma Kimilainen and Patricia Pita.
Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
They also enjoyed exclusive behind-the-scenes access at the E1 Jeddah GP, pilot meet-and-greets, and front-row seats to watch the RaceBird boats in action.
