A delegation from Public Relations of ADNOC and its Group of Companies visited the Abu Dhabi Training Center for Special Needs to familiarize themselves with activities of training workshops established with the support of ADNOC.

As part of the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care, Special Needs and Minor’s Affairs, the Center gives vocational training to the special needs children in various purpose-built workshops.

Mr. Ibrahim Hassan Al Marzouqi, Director of the Development and Rehabilitation Professional Workshops Project, said that the purpose of the workshops, which have been equipped with the support of ADNOC, was to give proper training to UAE students with special needs in various skills such as candle making, assembling electronic devices, metal works and welding, electronic mechanics, carpentry, knitting, sewing and jewelry designing.

“The idea is to train these people to be competitive for the job market and turn them to productive and respected citizens of the society,” Mr. Al Marzouqi said during the delegation’s tour of the various workshops.

He added that the Center can make mass production of a number of products such as candles, traffic signs, tissue paper boxes, metal frames of all sorts, electronic boards and switches, shawls, stitched and knitted garments and others.

He said that the Center had signed candle its first significant deal with the Intercontinental Hotel. It will provide the Hotel with all the sorts of candles it needs. The Center’s management is also negotiating with the Traffic Police Department to provide them with traffic signs.

“We are proud to mention that two of our trainees have been recruited by the Abu Dhabi Emiri Aviation Authority, winning their jobs by merit and not by compassion,” he said, urging ADNOC to find suitable jobs for their trained students.

“When given proper working environment these people can even be more productive than normal employees because they understand the challenge they face,” Al Marzouqi said.

Mr. Thomas Pape, Center’s Senior Advisor, said the students’ training goes through three levels.

“We have children with different disabilities, some of them with serious disabilities that they cannot even handle simple tasks due to poor motor coordination which needs tremendous patience,” he added.

He noted that in Germany it takes six to seven years to prepare the students to be fully productive in their different fields.

“We do not prepare them only on the intellectual level but we also prepare them on the social level,” Mr. Pape said, noting that the students start their day in a social gathering where they have breakfast together, socialize together and start the day in a regular way.

“Our biggest challenge is to educate the parents about the importance of giving proper dietary and social care to the children. Some of the students are overweight due to dietary negligence. It is therefore our duty to bring the parents onboard to support us,” he added.

The latest addition to the center is a training department where they learn tailoring and jewelry designing skills. They have UAE women instructors who underwent specialized training in handling and teaching children with special needs. There are 46 girls and 80 boys enrolled in the center.

“We want UAE people to take responsibility for caring their own people and this is why we have 80% of our staff as Emiratis. We know once they are trained in the proper way they will do a better job and in a few years many of them will have recognized degrees in the field,” Mr. Pape said.

He noted that in Germany special needs centers produce high quality products such as the electronic systems of BMW cars.

“The first thing that comes to people’s mind when they see special needs children is compassion,” Mr. Pape said, “this is a mistaken approach to deal with such people. What we are doing here is to overcome this misconception and show people that these children can make a challenge and prove the society’s misconceptions about them wrong by excelling in the skills they learn.”

Developed by German GTZ, an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operation, the Center is modeled after two famous German special needs institutions; one of them has been 50 years in operation.

For his part. Mr. Ibrahim Al Zaabi, Manager, ADNOC Public Relations Division, lauded the center for its efforts aimed at providing these children with the skills they need to be productive citizens and win self-respect and self pride.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Mr. Al Zaabi reiterated the full support of ADNOC and its Group of Companies for the work of the Center not only through material assistance but also by purchasing suitable products from it.

He urged the center’s management to launch a vigorous campaign to increase public awareness about the activities of the Center and the products it can offer.
ADNOC Distribution has offered free display of the Center’s products in the company’s gas stations.