The training and social service center of the Protestant Evangelical Church of Djibouti (EPED) has just completed a training of 33 months for the disabled. The graduation ceremony for young people with motor disabilities who completed the training as Assistant Computer Network Manager and Entrepreneurial Concepts, took place in the conference room of the church. This event brought together a host of personalities, including the representatives of the State Secretariat for Social Affairs, the State Secretariat for Youth and Sports, a diplomat of the European Union, as well as the president of the National Network of Disabled People. and the president of the National Commission of Human Rights. Since September 22, 2015, the EPED Training Center has welcomed about 30 young people with disabilities for a bilingual training (French & English), the job of assistant computer network manager and notions of entrepreneurship . It contributes through its activities to the fight against poverty, by promoting the social and economic integration of out-of-school youth and those living with motor disabilities.

Speaking on this occasion, the acting director and coordinator of educational projects of the Church’s training and social service center, Mr. Mukendi Pierre, affirmed that this training was born following an observation made on the people look at people with disabilities. « Victims of discrimination and marginalization, » he added, « they do not always have the appropriate education and training to access the labor market, to live independently to achieve their full potential. and effective participation in society. He also stressed that this action aims to improve the employability and professional reintegration of people with motor disabilities by upgrading their level of education and making them able to contribute through active life to the development of the rapidly expanding society.

« We wish in a special way, » concluded Mr. Pierre, « to thank the Government of the Republic of Djibouti and the Head of State, Mr. Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, for the strict respect of the Convention of the The United Nations on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which it ratified in 2012, Article 27 of which calls for « promoting the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector through the implementation of appropriate policies and measures, including where appropriate, affirmative action programs, incentives and other measures « , as well as » to promote technical and vocational rehabilitation, job retention and return to work programs for persons with disabilities « .

It should be noted that it was the European Union delegation that financed this project. And in this context that the president of the National Network of Disabled people wanted to pay a tribute to the European Union for this financial contribution.

« Know that your share of the funding has been used to give hope to these young people who have just completed their training and are ready to face life with great motivation, » he said. He also thanked the Protestant Service of Mission de France, the association Handicap Action, the Association to live louder, the ADDS, Djibouti telecom and the National Network of Disabled, for their contribution in the implementation of this project.

The ceremony ended with graduation to trainees who completed this training. According to Halima, a young girl who suffers from motor disability and has benefited from this training, it is time to find them jobs that she and her friends can implement the achievements. The development of a country begins with the education of its population so that it can have the necessary qualifications for the needs of its economy. In the face of an increasingly demanding professional world, a skilled workforce is an essential indicator for an evolutionary and constructive emergence.