The World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), an initiative of Qatar Foundation (QF), and Occidental Petroleum Qatar Ltd. (Oxy Qatar) held an award ceremony, on October 4, for five young adults who participated in a new Young Adults’ Life Skills Camp pilot training program to help integrate young adults with autism into society.

The Young Adults’ Life Skills Camp pilot program was implemented in collaboration with the Child Development Centre (CDC) and held weekly during July and August 2018. CDC’s professional staff provided specialised training that included cooking classes, games, gym lessons, and activities to boost motor skills that would help people carry out household chores with increased independence.

The certificates were awarded by Dr. Saleh bin Ali Al Marri, Assistant Secretary General for Medical Affairs at the Ministry of Public Health.

Speaking at the ceremony at the QF Recreation Center, Ms. Sultana Afdhal, CEO of WISH, said: “We offer our congratulations to all those involved in making the Young Adults’ Life Skills Camp a success.

“Seeing these five young people successfully complete this short but vigorous training course is not only rewarding but a huge step towards building inclusive communities in Qatar, where every individual is an active and productive member of society.”

Since its inception, WISH has made mental health and wellbeing a priority area for research, training, and community engagement programs. Research carried out by WISH identified a need for the Young Adults’ Life Skills Camp, and support from Oxy Qatar made it possible to build a program that utilized the expertise of CDC.

Mr. Andrew H. Kershaw, President and General Manager of Oxy Qatar, said: “We at Occidental, everywhere we work and everywhere we live and operate, strive to give back to the local community, and so we are delighted to be able to support WISH, the Ministry of Public Health, QF, and CDC to create this inspiring new pilot program, Young Adults’ Life Skills Camp.

“We congratulate these young people on enthusiastically completing the thorough training course and we hope they enjoyed it as much as Oxy has in just being able to support it. On behalf of Oxy Qatar, I extend our thanks to WISH, the Ministry of Public Health, and all those that supported this program for their tireless efforts to make possible these important mental health initiatives.”

Mrs. Hasna Nada, Founder and CEO, CDC, said she was impressed with the participants’ eagerness to learn and the positive response to the coaching they received, saying: “For adults who face the challenges of autism, routine and repetition is key to teaching them confidence when it comes to managing everyday tasks such as handling money or preparing food.”

WISH will be holding its next global gathering of healthcare leaders at Qatar National Convention Centre on November 13-14, 2018. WISH 2018 will be preceded by a week of health care-related events across Doha during Doha Healthcare Week, which runs from November 6-12, 2018.

For further information about WISH, visit www.wish.org.qa and @WISHQatar on Twitter.

Cover image courtesy of Qatar Foundation

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