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Umeed-e-Noor (UEN), a program of Hashoo Foundation hosted a Fun and Art Fair for special persons in line with the United Nations International day of Persons with disabilities at its premises in H-8/1 in Islamabad on January 21, 2010. The fair was organized in partnership with HOPE 87, with fundings from the Austrian Development Corporation (ADC) to celebrate and showcase the skills of persons living with special needs.
The Fun & Art Fair was organized as part of the project, 'Skills Training for Handicapped People of Pakistan' under Hashoo Foundation's Skills Development Program. The goal of the project is to support people with disabilities by providing better equipped skills training centre and increased employment opportunities. UEN has a fully equipped training facility where currently training in four skills is being imparted, namely; Housekeeping, pottery making, tailoring (cutting & sewing) & embroidery.
The fun and art fair was well attended by members of the press, government, donor organizations, civil society organizations and other well wishers of the Hashoo Foundation. The fair featured art work and crafts made by the trainees of the skills training project, along with display of the different rehabilitation aids, positioning aids and teaching material being used in various departments of Umeed-e-Noor.
The fair also showcased the products and services of Hashoo Foundation such as their Mountain Honey, a product of the "Women Empowerment through Honey Bee Farming" project, winner of the BBC World Challenge 08. Another project, Marble Shine Associates (MSA), a unique income generating project was also showcased.
The attendees also had the option to shop amongst a variety of Sindhi cloth and artificial jewelry etc. The fair also offered entertainment for children in the form of various swings, bouncing castles, trampolines and music.
Delicious snacks along with beverages were also made available for attendees who had a very informative day out and appreciated the efforts of Hashoo Foundation to create mass awareness about skills training available for people with disabilities.
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