A fashion parade showcasing works by trainees of the SHUMAS Vocational Rehabilitation Centre situated in the Nkwen neighbourhood of Bamenda III Sub-division, was a key feature during the graduation of the third batch recently.

In effect, the centre graduated some eight trainees with special needs after empowering them with life skills in traditional embroidery, shoe mending, marking, knitting, sewing, hairdressing and cane weaving.

The seven life skills are income generating and the trainees are now poised to face the challenges of society without the Strategic Humanitarian Services (SHUMAS) which demonstrated generosity in training them free of charge. The SHUMAS Vocational Rehabilitation Centre trains persons with different handicaps who show interest in acquiring life skills.

On hand to cheer the trainees, the Director of SHUMAS, Ndzerem Stephen Njodzeka saluted the commitment of the trainees to emerge and went on to serve them certificates and start-up materials. The crowd pulling event hailed the humanitarian services of SHUMAS and encouraged persons with special needs or the marginalised to unlock their potentials and mainstream their livelihoods.

It was a day for persons with special needs who sang and danced in appreciation for the conception and creation of the SHUMAS Vocational rehabilitation Centre to give them a chance in life. Another high point was a play by the trainees, showcasing the rejection of a handicapped child who later became the breadwinner and cornerstone of the family after learning a trade at the SHUMAS Centre.

It was also a day for SHUMAS and their CLVMAC- UK- partners who were also cheered for erecting a dormitory and lodging facility for some 30 persons with special needs. The facility also carries a refectory and a garden. Training and lodging at the SHUMAS Vocational Rehabilitation Centre is free.