Al Noor Institute students perform “Qatar in the Eyes of the Disabled” operetta
As part of its pioneering “Definitely Able” initiative, the international integrated energy and chemical company Sasol, along with Qatar Airways, sponsored “Qatar in the Eyes of the Disabled”, an operetta organized by the Al Noor Institute for the Blind to support the local visually-impaired community.
The event took place at the Qatar National Theater to celebrate the graduation of the 20th class at the Institute and to welcome the 21st class. HE the Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi and a number of state dignitaries attended the event.
Sasol’s pioneering initiatives, “Definitely Able” and “Accessible Qatar,” aim to enhance and accelerate the integration of people with disabilities into Qatari society by employing sports, arts, music and education to enable people with disabilities to play an active role in society.
This was reflected in the operetta, which sheds light on the status of visually-impaired students in Qatar and educates the public about the importance of using their abilities to serve the Qatari society.
The ceremony, which was moderated by media figure Adel Abdallah of Sawt Al Khaleej radio, included several performances by Al Noor Institute students enrolled in the Early Childhood Program and the Multi-Disability Program. They performed music and dance shows on the development of Qatar. The ceremony also saw the graduation of the 20th class of the Al Noor Institute students and the honoring of the sponsors.
Amal Al Boinin General Manager of Al Noor Institute said : “We thank Sasol and Qatar Airways for the support they have given us to organize this operetta, which has undoubtedly left a positive impact on people with visual disabilities and their families. and we appreciate Sasol’s conviction in community participation for the generous support of the visual disability. We in Al Noor Institute seek to do all we can to educate and empower people with visual disabilities, both Qataris and foreign residents.”
Sasol has been empowering people with visual impairments in Qatar through a number of initiatives, the latest of which was the football for the blind initiative, “Football for All.” It also works on facilitating accessibility for the blind to several locations by providing access instruction, check-ins, guidelines and information in Braille.
Jack Saba, General Manager of Public Affairs at Sasol, said: Sasol believes that everyone should be able to participate and be full members in their community. Over the past years, we have invested in many initiatives such as Definitely Able and Accessible Qatar to make that happen. Seeing the great work of the Al Noor Institute today has been inspiring, and we want to congratulate them for their efforts in educating and empowering members of the blind community.”
Since the launch of its “Definitely Able” Initiative in 2012, Sasol has recorded outstanding and continuous achievements in raising awareness and addressing the problems of inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities in Qatar, in addition to its achievements in the field of accessibility. Information on accessibility of public venues in Qatar are now available through the free application “Accessible Qatar” that can be downloaded on Apple, Google and Microsoft stores, and through AccessibleQatar.com website.