The First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Mrs Fatima Bio has, on Sunday 22nd April 2018, received an award from Shafallah, a leading and non-profit centre in Doha dedicated to children with special needs.
The award ceremony which took place at the Shafallah Centre is in recognition of the First Lady’s work with children especially in the area of education and their wellbeing. The award was handed over by the Executive Director of the Qatar Foundation, Omran Hamad Al Kumari.
In furtherance of the mission of the Qatar Foundation, the Shafallah Centre helps people with intellectual disabilities and autism by providing model services in the state of Qatar in the areas of education, rehabilitation, community awareness and human rights support in order to achieve more independent life and to activate their inclusion in the society.
Over the years, Mrs Bio has provided assistance to children with disabilities in London and as Co-founder of the Maada and Fatima Foundation, she also dedicated the work of the Foundation in supporting vulnerable children whether in hospitals, organising feeding programs or donating medical items to hospitals.
In a separate engagement, Her Highness Sheikha Hint Bind Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, also made a conducted tour with the First Lady to the Qatar Foundation Centre and the Qatar Foundation.
The tour by the First Lady to the educational centres is to promote her husband’s free education programme which was at the heart of the President’s campaign. One immediate success of the First Lady was that because of her passion for education Her Highness Sheikha Hint Bind Hamad Al Thani formally invited the First Lady to participate in the Qatar Foundation Conference on Education in Ghana scheduled for 9th May 2018. Additionally, Her Highness also promised that Sierra Leone will now be considered for the Qatar Scholarships for deprived Children in Africa.