Al Manar Association of Mentally Disabled Persons Celebrates 50th anniversary

Al Manar Association of Mentally Disabled Persons celebrated Wednesday the 50th anniversary of its establishment at a ceremony held in Rabat under the chairmanship of Princess Lalla Meryem, the eldest sister of King Mohammed VI.

Princess Lalla Meryem chaired the signing of two bilateral agreements between the association and the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the National Agency for Employment and Skills Promotion (ANAPEC).

Director & founder of Al Manar association Annie Lazrak surveyed during the ceremony the association’s activities and efforts since it was set up 50 years ago, stressing that the association has succeeded in supporting children with disabilities and helping them to integrate into society and into professional life.

She also commended the numerous companies that support the association, help mentally disabled children to continue their studies, and contribute to integrate them into the labor market, and into society.

For her part, Fouzia Azzouzi, vice-president of the national Union of associations working in the field of mental disability (UNAHM), based at Al Manar center, said that the Union is the result of an initiative by a number of associations working in the field of mental disability at the national level, stressing the importance of joint action in the associative fabric.

Part of the goals of the Union consists in promoting joint action to preserve the basic rights of people with disabilities, notably civil, political, economic, societal and cultural rights, she said.

The Union also submits legislative texts to the parties concerned at governmental, constitutional and parliamentary level, and monitors the implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Fouzia Azzouzi added.