The Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs has collaborated with the Bank of Sharjah to renovate the Centre’s Bakery Unit to provide additional learning opportunities for the students and cater to the increased demand on a variety of bakery products.

The Bakery Unit is one of the four Vocational Training Units at Al Noor where students are trained and equipped with the requisite vocational and other work related skills to make them self-reliant and financially independent. Since it started operation in 2009, the baked items produced by students in the Bakery Unit have become extremely popular thereby the need to increase production.

Ms. Isphana Al-Khatib, Director of Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs, said, “We would like to thank the Bank of Sharjah for their continued support and sponsoring the renovation of our Bakery Unit. With Bank of Sharjah’s help this project will increase the number of skills taught in the unit resulting in greater skills being mastered by the students and trainees. The increased demand will result in increasing students and trainees strength in the Bakery Unit. Our goal at Al Noor is to make our students self-reliant so they can develop their sense of confidence and boost their self-esteem and this project will support us in reaching our goal.”

Ms. Aida Armali, Manager, Bank of Sharjah expressed her joy and pride to witness such an event and said, “The Bank’s commitment to society is deeply rooted in its values and forms an integral part of its strategy and we praise ourselves for being an active member in our society. Philanthropy has always been at the heart of Bank of Sharjah since inception. Supporting those in need within our community and beyond has always been a clear objective. Our Corporate Social Responsibility programmes are well balanced; being socially responsible and focusing on our local community is part of the Bank’s culture. We hope that the refurbished bakery will be successful and that it will enhance the skills of children with special needs while at the same time they enjoy being active members in the society. We wish them all the best.”

Ms. Aida Armali visited the various Vocational Training units of the Centre such as – Wood Design Technology, Sewing Technology, Printing Technology and finally headed towards the Bakery for the inauguration. The celebrations included a Spanish dance performance by the students and also ended on a personal note with a Vote of thanks from a student again.

Currently, there are 29 senior students and two sheltered employees who undergo training at the Bakery. The training includes preparation of various bakery items like cookies, cakes and muffins in different flavours. The students work as a part of the team that produces the baked items on a commercial basis.

The expansion of the Bakery Unit will increase the production of the items allowing greater learning opportunities for the students who can showcase their ability in the community.

We would like to thank all Individuals and corporates that place orders for the bakery items are guaranteed hygienically prepared products because the unit strictly complies with the health and safety regulations issued by Dubai Municipality. Some of these guidelines include, health and safety certification for the bakery staff from an accredited institute, adherence to Dubai Municipality’s list of suppliers for procuring ingredients and strict guidelines in storage and usage of raw materials and finished goods.

Apart from taking bulk orders from corporates or general public, the Centre also hosts Bake Sales at various schools and is working on collaborating with other schools for such activities.

For more information please call the Centre at +971 4 3404844.