Heba Atef became the first-ever Egyptian flight attendant with Down syndrome to embark on a special flight titled the “Journey of Humanity” from Cairo to Khartoum, starting from Saturday, November 30 and lasting until Thursday, December 5.
Atef, a student at the Arab Open University in Egypt (AOU), accompanied a group of passengers with special needs alongside their families during this journey.
In collaboration with the Badr Aviation Company and Smart Mind Training Center in Khartoum, the remarkable “Journey of Humanity” experience took place under the sponsorship of the UN International Committee, and was specifically tailored for people with special needs.
The trip headed to Sudan to attend several workshops supporting participants with special needs.
Atef’s mother said that a flight attendant’s uniform was customized specially for her daughter, while Atef said that her experience did not frighten her, according to the Hon News outlet reported.
Back in June, a similar event occurred for the first time in Egypt and the Arab world when the “UN-ARTS” committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Egypt selected Egyptian swimmer Mohamed al-Husseini, born with downs syndrome, as the committee’s official spokesperson in Egypt as well as abroad.
And in October 2018 Ibrahim al-Kholy, an Egyptian also born with down syndrome, was appointed as a teaching assistant at the University of Canada in Egypt’s Mass Communication, Radio and Television department.
This year a significant joint collaboration was launched between Orascom, the European Union and UNICEF.
The collaborative forum was titled “Empowering inclusion of the differently-abled” and was attended by representatives from Egypt’s private and governmental sectors. The forum discussed the importance of issuing legislation that secures the inclusion of people with disabilities within various vocational sectors.
A newly released report by UNDP indicates that there are nearly 12 million people with special needs in Egypt.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
