Under the instructions of Lieutenant General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior stemming from his commitment to remove barriers facing disabled people, and in line with the “Hope Planter” initiative, Lieutenant General Saif Abdullah Al Shafar, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior delivered six cars to the disabled; the cars are equipped with modern techniques including a movable seat and a small lift to help the disabled get in and out of the vehicle.
Lieutenant General Al Shafar conveyed the greeting of His Highness Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior to the disabled recipients of the cars and reiterated his hopes that these vehicles will decrease the barriers they face.
He said: “His Highness’ initiative accomplishes its higher target to support the disabled, removing obstacles from their lives, reviving the inherited UAE practices, especially social consolidation.”
He reasserted the Ministry of Interior’s assurance to contribute to providing the best care to the disabled and activating all regulations to extend the best services to this category, who are an integral part of society.
The people who received these cars expressed their appreciation and gave their thanks to His Highness Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior for this generous gesture. The delivery of modern and developed cars that work automatically for the disabled to bring ease to their travels, indicates His Highness’ concern towards the disabled cases and his continuous support to them as well as enabling them to overcome difficulties.
The “Hope Planter” initiative was launched in April 2010 under the patronage of His Highness Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior for the purpose of merging disabled kids with their counterparts to enhance concepts of loyalty and belonging to the homeland. It also aims to increase the ability to work in society and allows everyone to contribute to building it with no exception of any social category. The Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters hosted an elite group of disabled people from the Abu Dhabi Center for Care and Rehabilitation, where they participated along with His Highness in planting a Tender Palm to be a symbol of the launch initiative.
On May 2010, Ministry of Interior announced enabling 195 disabled children to attend the Cinderella and the Magical Shoes play in addition to all technical, entertainment and education activities held in the capital.
The Security Media Department continued its role to execute His Highness’ initiative by forming the Police Friends Group that held its first session with the participation of 12 disabled male and female students from the Abu Dhabi Center for Care and Rehabilitation, Al Afaq School for girls and Al Butain Model School for boys. The second group’s session was held in February 2011.
The Hope Planter initiative continued when the police general headquarters in Abu Dhabi announced providing services to disabled people including crippled, blind, and senior citizens. The services are to be extended to them in their houses to facilitate their transactions without the need for them to visit the police stations in their areas.