KUWAIT: Sunday evening, the Regular General Assembly meeting of the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped was held for the year 2021 in the presence of BedourBou Nashi, the representative of the Civil Societies Department, the administration team at the Ministry of Social Affairs, valued General Assembly members, and the external auditor, Messrs. RSM Albazie and its partners for auditing.

The administrative and financial reports for the year 2021 were approved during the meeting, as the annual report contains all the achievements and activities that the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped organized or its children participated in, clarifies the types of services provided to children with disabilities, and the latest progress of KSH projects and work in general.

The general assembly meeting ended with the election of three members for the Board of Directors, who are Dr Mohammed Ismail Al-Ansari, Nawal Abdullah Al-Mutawa, and Dr Sheikha Abdullah Shaheen Al-Ghanim. Then the elected board of directors met, and the administrative positions were distributed as follows: Sabeeka Saad Saqer Al-Jasser (Chair); Salwa Abdelrazaq Razouqi (Vice-Chair); Dr Mohammed Ismail Al-Ansari (Secretary-General); Nawal Abdullah Al-Mutawa (Treasurer); Noura Jaber Al-Ghurair (Member of the Board); BaderAbdulatif Ben Naji (Member of the Board); Dr Sheikha Abdullah Shaheen Al-Ghanim  (Member of the Board).

Sabeeka Saad Saqer Al-Jasser, the Chair of the Kuwait Society for the Handicapped, stated that the KSH has instilled its foothold as one of the pioneers of charitable action in the State of Kuwait over five golden decades. The Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2021. Over the past 50 years, KSH has realized outstanding achievements and provided distinct services to persons with disabilities.

During 2021, the Society continued its endeavors to achieve Kuwait's Vision 2035 with regard to the care and integration of people with disabilities by contributing to the implementation of the national policy for the rights of persons with disabilities. In line with the main themes of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, i.e. integration into education and employment, entertainment and community participation, health care, and quality control of standards for accessibility and availability, including education, the Society managed to support such rights.

During the last year, the Society's efforts were directed primarily towards increasing the opportunities for more than 400 students with disabilities to benefit from its services by expanding the scope of those services and increasing the competency of human resources, including hiring experienced teachers and specialists, as well as raising the capacity of educational centers, the efficiency of their outputs, and modernizing their settings.

In addition to supporting initiatives, programs, and partnerships aimed at integrating disabled people with members of the mainstream community, and qualifying them to obtain vocational training, which contributes to offering job opportunities that boosts their psychological, social, and financial stability.

It also contributes to helping students with disabilities to improve their ability to work, produce and show the energy of this segment in various fields, as the vocational training programs in 2021 included the banking sector, restaurants, and printing presses. The overall goal is to make them a productive group to contribute to the development of the community.

Al-Jasser added that the harvest of the Society's efforts over these long years, exceeding 50 years, yielded the reflection of the human features of Kuwait and the original values and principles preserved by the people of Kuwait. Had it not been for the help of God, and the support of our success and giving partners, the philanthropists, such achievements would not have been realized.

In conclusion, Sabeeka praised the outstanding efforts of the executive management and the educational, rehabilitation, and nursing staff at KSH. She also appreciates the efforts of all those who contributed to supporting this entity, including government institutions, public and private sector companies, and institutions. My thanks also go to the employees, who support our aspiration for further success and excellence over the 50 years to come, God willing.