Doha, April 19 (QNA) - HE Minister of Social Development and Family Buthaina bint Ali Al Jabr Al Nuaimi lauded the efforts of Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities and its ongoing preparations to launch the second "Is’ham" Initiative, which aims to employ persons with disabilities and attract supporters and partners to become familiarized with the skills and capabilities of individuals with disabilities and autism.

This came during her visit to the center to view the quality of services provided to its functionaries, along with the future projects for beneficiaries from among individuals with disabilities, as well as the services the center offers to help them integrate into society through the provision of job opportunities that best suit their talents.

The center announced the launch of this initiative in recognition of how a powerful community includes everyone and aims to enhance the understanding of the capabilities and skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism in jobs across the public and private sectors, while raising awareness among public and private institutions with respect to the areas in which they can be employed.

For her part, Executive Director of Shafallah Center Maryam Saif Al Suwaidi said the motto of this initiative expresses the fact that a strong community is one that includes all, emphasizes that a powerful community embraces all without exception, as diversity is respected and cooperation is encouraged to accomplish shared objectives.

She added that, when every single individual feels that he or she belongs to a community with an effective role, an environment of solidarity and prosperity emerges. The idea behind the second initiative is to engage the center’s affiliates and graduates in professional roles that interface with the target public across various state institutions and along diverse career pathways.

She highlighted that, through this second initiative, the center strives to raise awareness among a broad segment of the community regarding the capabilities of disabled individuals through interaction with them and recognition of their occupational skills, with the objective of facilitating their employment.

Several public and private entities are participating in the second initiative, namely MSDF, Ministry of Interior represented by the General Directorate of Traffic, Hamad International Airport, Qatar Museums represented by the Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar Airways, and the University of Doha for Science and Technology, Al Suwaidi highlighted.

Al Suwaidi underscored that the State of Qatar gives foremost priority to employing and empowering individuals with disabilities as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development.

She added that the vision includes multiple initiatives and programs devoted to them, such as social development, which is laser-focused on strengthening a tight-knit family and empowering vulnerable segments, including persons with disabilities, to ensure their effective engagement in the community, in addition to providing an enabling environment for them, with particular focus on training and rehabilitating them based on market needs. (QNA)