More than 200 children in Egypt's have benefited from a major renovation of their school's facilities, which was organized as part of AkzoNobel's global Human Cities initiative.

The youngsters, aged six to 12, attend the El-Tarbia El-Fikrya public school for special needs children. As well as undergoing a colorful transformation, the renovation included building a customized sensory development room, constructing a football field, repairing the basketball and volleyball courts, furnishing kindergarten classrooms and the adjoining playground, designing and constructing a theater stage, and landscaping the grounds.

"AkzoNobel takes great pride in giving back to the community and we're glad to have helped enrich the lives of the students at El-Tarbia EL-Fikrya," said Hanni Radwan, Business Director for Performance Coatings in North Africa & Levant.

A special ceremony was held to unveil the new-look school, which was attended by The Honorable Mr. Laurens Westhoff, the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Egypt. Other special guests included Mr. Joost Geijer, Agricultural Counsellor, Economic Department; Mrs. Wafaa El- Khadrawy, Community Development Manager, 6^th of October City Educational Administration; Rajiv Rajgopal, AkzoNobel Regional Director MEA; students, parents and teachers; and some of the AkzoNobel Egypt staff and volunteers who helped with the renovation.

"It was inspiring to watch the response of the children when the new facilities were unveiled," said Manager of the school, Mrs. Renieh Ibrahim Atta-Allah. "They now have a range of additional activities that will support them in their development."

AkzoNobel Egypt has a strong track record of organizing Human Cities projects. For example, two years ago, the Ahmed Zewail public school - also in 6^th of October City - was transformed after 25 of the company's employees volunteered to begin a restoration which saw it become a safe, healthy and colorful place for more than 3,000 students to study and learn.

The Human Cities initiative - everything AkzoNobel does for and with society - aims to help the world's cities deliver a stronger sense of community purpose, pride and happiness. The program positively impacted the lives of more than 9 million people in 2016.