Twenty pieces of artwork by children of the Shafallah Centre, are being sold at The One Qatar to help raise awareness and funds for the non-profit organisation. “I went to Shafallah Centre in January because I read an article about the children’s paintings earlier in the newspaper, and I was amazed by their works. I was amazed with the centre, as well. Shafallah is so well-equipped. It is part of our belief at The One to help in charity, and this is just a first chapter of our coordination with Shafallah… with more to come,” said Gabriel Salomé, Qatar Country operations manager and CSR ambassador 2008/9 for The One. Shafallah, which is named after the flower of the Caper plants, native to the Mediterranean region, is a centre that provides comprehensive services and care to individuals with developmental learning challenges. According to Bahaa El Beoh, Art teacher at the Shafallah Centre, seven of the paintings were made by children with autism and 13 by children with mental disabilities. “Painting is a way for children with autism to express themselves because it’s rarely that they express things in words. Their works range from realistic paintings to totally abstract and they also use different media,” said Dr. Eddie M. Denning, the centre’s managing director. “We are incredibly thankful to The One for doing this for us,” said Denning, who has been a director at the centre for eight years. The One Qatar announced it will donate all proceeds of the sale of the artworks to the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs. Included with each painting is a complimentary information booklet and DVD, featuring pictures of various paintings. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=April2009&file=Local_News2009040621714.xml

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