The Shafallah Centre recently opened its Post-School Community Services facility for Shafallah graduates who require more training to increase their chances of employment. Sameera Al Qassimi, deputy director of Shafallah Centre and the supervisor of the new centre, said the Post-School Community Services facility was opened for individuals with disabilities, especially graduates of Shafallah Centre, to equip them with more skills and increase their chances of being employed. “Independence is one of the main goals of this programme… We want to provide additional training to individuals with disabilities to improve their chances of finding jobs in the outside world… This centre will also provide assistance to the students and help them look for jobs in the community,” said Al Qassimi. According to Al Qassimi, individuals with disabilities will be assessed before they can join the programme, but she said priority would be given to graduates of the Shafallah Centre. She said the centre will accept individuals from 18 to 25 years old and will give importance to individuals with disabilities who are qualified to work. The programme will include three services, a Transition programme, a Consultancy and Community programme and an Activity programme. Al Qassimi said the Shafallah Centre was preparing to start another programme for people with disabilities who cannot work in the community. “We are thinking 25 years in the future… We want to give them services to take care of them so they can take care of themselves,” said Torrence Royer, Shafallah Centre’s transition coordinator. Around 18 specialists will be working in the programme, and will include a job coach, therapists and speech pathologists, among others. Among the specialists, only three are non-Qataris. “At this new centre, we have equipped it with everything the students need to complete their training,” said Al Qassimi, who added the centre will also help in matching the students with jobs suited to them in some companies here. Eddie Denning, managing director of Shafallah Centre, said individuals with disabilities (those who can work) were known to be good employees. “They have perfect attendance, they don’t gossip, they just do their work and concentrate on doing it well.” The Post-School Community Services facility, which is located in West Bay not very far from Shafallah Centre, will be formally launched on October 1. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=July2009&file=Local_News2009070511859.xml

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