Tangier — The Princess Lalla Asmae Center for Deaf Children, inaugurated on Monday by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Asmae, President of the Lalla Asmae Foundation for Deaf Children, is an educational and training facility for deaf and hearing-impaired children and teenagers.
Built on a covered area of 2,550 m2, the Center comprises 20 classrooms, 4 workshops dedicated to sewing, hairdressing, pastry-making and IT, 5 offices, a refectory and a sports field, as well as several other outbuildings that will complement the Center's activities.
The aim of the facility is to provide care and training for children and teenagers, with a view to enhancing their future integration into the job market.
In a statement to MAP, the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Chakib Benmoussa, hailed the efforts made by the Lalla Asmae Foundation for Deaf Children and Youth to support and accompany pupils with hearing impairments, particularly in preschool and primary education, praising the Foundation's contribution to the integration of deaf children into the school curriculum.
Benmoussa praised the role of these centers, like the Princess Lalla Asmae Center for deaf children in Tangier, in reducing school drop-out rates and integrating deaf children into the school curriculum, by enabling them to benefit from quality learning and appropriate supervision, and to participate in parallel activities, thanks to the modern equipment available at the Center.
For his part, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Ait Taleb, asserted that this type of center will contribute to completing the services provided within the framework of the "Protocol for the management of deafness", which is the fruit of a partnership between the Ministry, the Lalla Asmae Foundation, the National Health Insurance Agency (ANAM) and other partners, specifying that this protocol will determine the course of care to be followed by deaf children.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
After pointing out that failure to provide care for deaf or hard-of-hearing children could in future constitute a burden for social security funds in the event of non-treatment, the Minister emphasized that this protocol has established a care pathway for children from diagnosis to treatment, including early and regular diagnosis, care and treatment services specialized in cochlear implantation and post-implant follow-up.
For her part, center director Latifa Mars pointed out that the center, which follows the public education system, comprises an educational hub with pre-school, primary and middle school classrooms, and a vocational training hub with 4 workshops dedicated to sewing, hairdressing, pastry-making and IT, as well as a health hub offering speech therapy, sensory-motor and psycho-sensory re-education services, and monitoring children's medical records.
She emphasized that the center also offers sports and cultural activities to beneficiaries, in order to promote their personal development.
This center, which has mobilized a total investment of MAD 15 million, excluding the cost of land, has been equipped thanks to the commitment and collaboration of the Regional Academy of Education and Training (AREF), the Office of Vocational Training and Promotion of Work (OFPPT) and the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
