Ashar Hussain is a dancer, graphic designer, photographer and recently became a waiter.
The 19-year-old Pakistani student, who is deaf, is being taught how to communicate with coffee shop patrons.
“I tell them to speak slow or write their order down,” says Hussain, who reads lips.
His addition marks the latest triumph and development of Mawaheb from Beautiful People, a non-profit art studio for adults with special needs. Located in Dubai’s historical Al Fahidi district, the studio began in a villa provided by Princess Haya, wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, in 2010.
They recently expanded to a new studio that is three times bigger to open an art shop and coffee corner, where the students are assigned jobs. There are also art therapy sessions, exhibitions and sales of artworks created by the students.
The organisation is run by Wemmy de Maaker, a 44-year-old Dutch social worker, who says the coffee corner is a way to create further opportunities for social interactions for those uncomfortable around people with disabilities.
“A lot of people haven’t met deaf people and don’t know how to treat people with disabilities,” she says.
The reverse can also be true. De Maaker recalls that Hussain initially was not keen on his role in the coffee shop.
“He was in his own circle of friends who can communicate with him,” says de Maaker. “We asked him to step out of his comfort zone, so that he would become confident and learn new skills.”
Hussain credits the coffee corner experience as one of the reasons for a newfound confidence gained from his time with Mawaheb from Beautiful People.
“My parents allow me to take the metro and come here by myself now,” he says. “I dream of going to university to become a professional photographer.”
Tough love
Ryam Omar is chatty. One afternoon this week, the 36-year-old Yemeni saleswoman eagerly approached customers in the art shop. She pulled out a few greeting cards splashed with violet brush strokes, and informed them that her friends had created them. However, she struggled to make eye contact.
“You need to look up, look them in the eyes,” said de Maaker, who took her aside for a chat once the visitors left. “You also have to keep your distance when talking to them. No hugging.”
After being mostly confined to her home since birth because of a developmental delay, Omar’s parents enrolled her at Mawaheb. The studio has 14 students, between the ages of 18 and 58, who attend a full day of art-related activities three to five times a week.
While art is a way for the students to express themselves, the 25 volunteers have an equally rewarding experience, as they watch them become independent adults.
“Ryam had no purpose in life, no reason to wake up or dress,” says de Maaker, who moved to Dubai from the Netherlands more than a decade ago. “Then she started here and now is a chatterbox, wakes up early, dresses up and ‘owns’ the shop. She is almost like the manager of the shop. She calls it her shop.”
The students’ disabilities don’t mean that they are excused for childlike behaviour.
“We understand that we work with adults with varying degrees of special needs but it doesn’t mean that they can act out,” says de Maaker, who has been working with people with special needs for more than 15 years.
“It’s not easy for every person with autism, but our aim here is to make them independent individuals and, through art, the shop and coffee corner, we bring out the best in them.”
When Omar first arrived, she wouldn’t leave de Maaker’s side.
No comments:
Post a Comment