As part of the "Alfa 4-Life" CSR Program, and on the occasion of the international day for people with special needs, Alfa, managed by Orascom Telecom, has launched an initiative in support of the integration of persons with special needs in the workplace. A unique lunch was held on Wednesday 4 December at Le Gray Hotel, Beirut, cooked and served by the students of the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID).
This initiative is part of Alfa's commitment to support people with special needs and help them achieve their social integration through an active participation in social activities and involvement in the workplace. The lunch was attended by Alfa CEO and Chairman Marwan Hayek, Le Gray Hotel General Manager Mrs. Rana Khoury, as well as several social, diplomatic, and media figures.
The FAID students made great efforts and displayed exceptional competences in the hospitality sector. They have shown an exceptional determination to be involved in society. This initiative follows their intensive training in cooking and hospitality that was graciously offered by Le Gray Hotel as part of the hotel's support to social issues. The students also attended graphic design workshops and designed the lunch's identity such as menus and printouts among other material.
Hayek
Alfa CEO and Chairman Hayek congratulated the FAID students for their wonderful efforts and performance, indicating that this initiative is important because "it opens the door for the students to have a job that allows them to be self-sufficient and financially independent." Hayek added that this initiative "takes place on the day following the international day for people with special needs which is celebrated annually on December 3, and which called this year for breaking barriers and opening doors for a society of integration". "This is in line with the message we would like to convey today: people with disabilities can excel in all sectors once they have adequate support."
Khoury
In her word, Le Gray Hotel General Manager Mrs. Rana Khoury , said, "This initiative combines our hotel's two philosophies: the art of hospitality and social responsibility. We have offered the students of FIAD an opportunity to learn the art of hospitality, in which they excelled, and we hope they will be proud that their first professional opportunity and certificates of achievement were granted to them by Le Gray Hotel." Mrs. Khoury also hoped that "this initiative will be repeated on a yearly basis in collaboration with Alfa."
At the end, Hayek and Khoury handed the students certificates of achievement in recognition of their exceptional performance.
