employed 492 people with disabilities since its establishment.
Ten years after the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) was founded, the organization's Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment was founded in 1989 because it believed it was crucial to broaden its services to the greatest number of disabled individuals of all ages and nationalities in compliance with global best practices. The name was changed in 2016 from the Vocational Rehabilitation Department.
Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment is the final stage of the educational and training pyramid according to SCHS's rehabilitation methodology. One of its most important goals is to empower, rehabilitate, and train people with disabilities to find employment and educational opportunities. It also aims to empower public and private sector institutions to achieve common goals by providing various services to develop the skills of job seekers with disabilities and qualify them for this purpose. The center also provides services to these institutions through training programs, workshops, and consultations in the field of employing people with disabilities.
Three sections
The center consists of three departments: the Continuing Education Department, which provides educational programs to members; the Productive Projects Department, which aims to be a model for a leading social institution that empowers people with disabilities by providing vocational training and employment opportunities for them, enabling them to complete their work in a model work environment, and developing the skills of talented individuals to produce luxurious handcrafted products designed to order in productive projects within the center’s licensed projects, such as the Ceramics Project, Ateeq, Danat, Al Darza Art, Al Zahia Organic Farm, and Zuliya; and finally, the Employment Department, which contributes to empowering people with disabilities, providing them with job opportunities, and empowering them socially and economically.
The Center's valuable programs
Ms. Maryam Mohammed Yousef Bin Sandal, Director of Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment, confirmed that the Center offers a group of valuable educational and training programs to its 161 members, such as the Continuing Education Department Program, the Independent Living Program, and the BTEC Professional Programs. The Independent Living Program is an educational program based on the (TEACCH) curriculum and receives members from the age of 16 to 25 years of people with moderate disabilities who meet the conditions for joining the Independent Living Program and wish to hone their personal and life skills and employ them in aspects of community life.
She added: “The program offers an exceptional experience that combines community integration, interactive activities, and the preparation of an individual educational plan that suits the needs of each member and is compatible with the needs of his family. The center also provides a group of support services for the independent living program, such as educational psychological assessment services, speech and language services, physical therapy services, therapeutic swimming, horse riding, adapted physical education, training workshops (pottery / agriculture / cooking / sewing), in addition to life skills training at home.”
BTEC Professional Programs
Within the framework of the programs in Masarat, the center also offers a group of accredited programs, including the Vocational Studies program, the Art and Design program, and the Work Skill program. It is worth noting that all BETEC programs offered at the center grant students’ qualifications in the diploma, certificate.
The center offers a range of educational programs that accompany the BETEC program and support students' development and hone their academic and personal skills. These programs include: Arabic, English, computer science, artistic activities, sports activities, and an extracurricular activities program that includes educational trips and visits to workplaces, institutions, and universities.
International accreditation for teaching Pearson UK programs
In 2020, the center received international accreditation for teaching Pearson UK programs, making SCHS the first institution in the region dedicated to people with disabilities to receive this accreditation.
from the most important support services and activities at the center: physical therapy, speech and language services, individual plans to support positive behavior, adapted physical education, artistic activities, an extracurricular activities program, assistive technology, guidance sessions for students and families, and activity programs to develop hobbies and interests (agriculture / sewing / cooking).
Areas of cooperation with institutions
Regarding areas of cooperation with government and private institutions, Ms. Maryam pointed to the strength and solidity of this cooperation in many areas, including employment and training. The Employment Department provides partners with intensive training courses on how to deal with people with disabilities in the workplace. It also follows up with candidates after employment, provides consultations in the workplace if necessary, and organizes job fairs in cooperation with partners.
Introduction to the recruitment department
The Employment Department at Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment aims to achieve economic empowerment, sustainability, independence, and career development by ensuring that all persons with disabilities have equal employment opportunities and are free from discrimination in employment and training.
In addition, the Employment Department works to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and achieve social integration, as part of Masarat Center's efforts to empower both public and private sector institutions to achieve shared goals by providing diverse services to develop the skills of job seekers and prepare them for the labor market.
Recruitment mechanism
Regarding the mechanism for employing people with disabilities, the center’s director explained a set of approved steps that begin with receiving the job seeker and receiving the required identification documents. After an orientation session for the job seeker, a professional evaluation session is conducted, then the job seeker is registered in the employment database (waiting list), and then suitable jobs are searched for according to what is available with the cooperating agencies. If employment is achieved, follow-up is carried out after employment.
Recruitment Department Objectives
The most important objectives of the Employment Department are to advocate for and empower persons with disabilities by creating suitable opportunities in the labor market, providing guidance and counseling services to persons with disabilities to achieve job sustainability and career development, providing training and rehabilitation opportunities through training programs (training programs, workshops, and dialogue sessions), spreading community awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities in the workplace and how to deal with them, providing consultations and support to institutions on how to deal with persons with disabilities and create a work environment, building and developing partnerships with governmental and semi-governmental institutions and the private sector, and strengthening the framework of cooperation with all stakeholders (individuals, partners, governmental and private entities, persons with disabilities, and society) to ensure integrated efforts and consolidate the values of solidarity and cooperation to support the empowerment of persons with disabilities in society.
Ms. Maryam discussed the 492 disabled individuals who have worked for the Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment since its founding in a variety of public and commercial organizations, including SCHS employees.
Success stories
For example, Professor Abdullah Al-Sattar and Yahya Fadlallah, graduates of the BETEC program, work at Carrefour, and Professor Rula Raed Juma, also a graduate of the BETEC program, works at Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services. The most important areas of work for people with disabilities employed by the department are administrative work/data entry - reception and answering calls, field work/inspection, teaching assistant/in centers for people with disabilities, schools or nurseries, in addition to hotels and restaurants.
The Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment employs 90 staff, 19 of whom are persons with disabilities. This underscores the importance of combining words with action and the application of the principles advocated by the Center, with the goal of empowering persons with disabilities, enhancing their independence, and developing their skills and capabilities in various fields.
Another example is Ms. Abeer Issa, who has been working at Masarat Center for three years as a teaching assistant. She is a hearing-impaired person, 45 years old, married with two children. She is active and committed, loves her work and excels at it, and is also interested in art and recycling.
Parents are partners in success
Maryam stressed that Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment attaches great importance to fruitful cooperation with parents as partners in the services provided to their children with disabilities, in accordance with the best international practices and in line with the strategic plan of the Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services. Masarat Center has a Parents Council through which programs, activities and events related to them are coordinated. The Center also provides them with guidance and awareness lectures, and the Center is keen to involve parents in the events organized by the Center.
The honorable mother of teacher assistant Zahraa Wael confirmed that her daughter has been working at the Masarat Center for Development and Empowerment for three years. During this time, she has noticed that she has become better socially, speaking to others, as she used to be shy and had difficulty conversing with others.
Today, Zahraa's mother confirms that her daughter's self-confidence has increased, and she loves helping others. She has a sense of responsibility at home, and she also feels more independent, especially with a monthly salary, which allows her to support herself. She is also continuing her studies at the center, pursuing the BETEC Professional Diploma, which has opened new doors for her to develop and achieve.
Formation
The center's director spoke about the Productive Projects Department's Takween platform, which aims to empower people with disabilities in the Emirate of Sharjah and integrate them into the labor market. This platform is part of Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services' commitment to training and empowering people with disabilities in all fields, including the economic sector, enabling them to become self-reliant and self-sufficient.
She said: "Our products are available through the electronic platform "Takween," the mobile application, and our social media page "Instagram." We also deliver inside and outside the country.
She added: The Production Projects Department is licensed by the Economic Department and is divided into six trademarks:
1- Ceramics: A project to produce artistic ceramic pieces made by hand from clay, such as decorative pieces in different sizes, such as cups and plates - (main branch in Sharjah)
2- Ateeq: A project concerned with designing and executing various copper pieces such as pendants, bookmarks, and bracelets - (main branch in Sharjah.)
3- Danat: A project that produces a variety of luxurious sweets with different flavors, in addition to baked goods – in the main branch in Sharjah and in the Khorfakhan branch.
4- The art of stitching: handicrafts and embroidery such as souvenirs, bags, bookmarks, prayer rugs, and prayer robes - (in Khorfakhan branch.)
5- Al Zahia: An agricultural project licensed as an organic product by the Standards and Specifications Authority, offering organic products free of chemicals - (in the Khorfakhan branch)
6- Zuliya: A project to produce handmade carpets from wool threads in various sizes and shapes - (in the Dhaid branch).
Community message
Finally, Ms. Maryam addressed a message to relevant institutions regarding the employment of persons with disabilities. She called for encouraging both the public and private sectors to integrate persons with disabilities into their institutions, grant them special exemptions and privileges, and provide reasonable accommodations, provided that the appointment is actual and not merely formal. She also called for granting persons with disabilities equal opportunities and sufficient time during job tests and interviews.
Prepared and edited the report
Editor-in-Chief of Al-Manal Electronic Magazine