Bahrain has launched an art project featuring colourful camel statues across the country to help raise thousands of dinars for the fight against sickle cell anaemia.

Organisers hope to raise up to BD100,000 ($265, 200) from the sale, which will go towards research on the disease at the American University Hospital in Lebanon and to build a new care home for the elderly in Bahrain.

Nearly half of the 30 fibre glass camels have been sold for BD5,000 to BD7,000 with one local organisation offering a staggering BD60,000 for charity.

It comes as part of the Wihda Wahda (Let's Unite) campaign, which is being supported by the Human Rights and Social Development Ministry, with the participation of artists and volunteer students.

The project, called Caravan, was organised by Wihda Wahda exhibition director Dr May Al Otaibi and aimed to unite Bahrainis, regardless of sect and background.

"We plan to give 15 per cent of the proceeds to the university and the remaining money will go to the building of a parents care centre in Bahrain," said Dr Al Otaibi.

"The Caravan project was not only an artistic project, it mainly aimed to bring together all Bahrainis from all parts of the country. The participating students have said they forged new friendships and walls have been broken."

The camels were stationed across the country as part of the mobile project which had seen them pass through Arad, Sitra, Isa Town, Bahrain International Circuit and finally Seef Mall.

Organisers hoped to auction off each model this month, but that is still up in the air as the statues are quickly being grabbed by potential buyers.

"You will not believe the number of phone calls we have received regarding the camels," added Dr Al Otaibi.

Each camel was designed on paper by around 100 students, aged between six and 12, before 61 others aged 12 to 18 took on the task of painting the camels for a total of 10 days.

They feature designs such as Bahraini traditional pottery, calligraphy, the Bahrain flag, Formula One, gold wheat sheaves, Bahraini national landmarks, sunsets and landscapes, and one has been designed as a mythical unicorn.

Each statue costs BD2,000 to make, meaning the sale so far has been a success.

More than 20,000 people were said to have voted in the Wihda Wahda Vote For Your Camel competition with 5,000 votes accumulated through social media websites. – TradeArabia News Service