By Nawaf Al-Deqbasi

DOHA, May 3 (KUNA) — After a successful visit to Bahrain, the Journey of Hope arrived on Saturday at the Qatari capital Doha on the second stop of its 19-nation global marine tour aimed at raising global awareness on people with mental disabilities.
The locally-made 27-metre-long vessel will stop at 19 countries and 22 ports of call, through the surrounding Gulf region and Europe, ending at Washington DC. It will do this over 260,000km on an estimated 210 day-long expedition.
The trip is being supported and sponsored by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Upon their arrival at Doha, the crew members of the journey were welcomed by a huge gathering including Kuwait’s Charge d’Affaires to Qatar Turky Al-Mekrad, embassy staff, local journalists and enthusiasts.
The crew includes two mentally-disabled men and their parents alongside a number of volunteer skilled sailors.
The trip aims to shed light on the skills and abilities of the mentally-disabled community in Kuwait, to harness their talents and to encourage the continuity of care for their endeavours, the Kuwaiti diplomat told KUNA.
He expressed gratitude for the effort and attention the various bodies in Qatar have expressed towards the trip, namely the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, the coast guard, Qatar Foundation, the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of People with Special Needs and local media.
Senior crew member, Jassem Al-Bader, who is the father of Mishal Al-Bader, a Kuwaiti down syndrome swimming champion, said that a group of parents of down syndrome-affected and autistic people were behind the idea of launching the trip.
“The trip aims to illustrate the capabilities of mentally-disabled people in carrying out acts of a heroic nature, to tackle the isolation this community is faced with and to help their parents overcome the difficulties they experience when dealing with their children,” he said.
Highlighting the plight of his son and others, he explained that mentally-disabled individuals are not given their full rights, and that their accomplishments do not receive public attention despite the talents they possess. “They are human and they need to be assimilated into the society,” he said.
Al-Bader also hopes that Journey of Hope highlights the achievements of the people of the Arab world – its eastern Gulf region in particular.
He hailed the support extended by His Highness the Amir and local bodies in Kuwait for the trip.
The Ministry of Defence provided senior sailors and the Ministry of Information live coverage of the trip, he said. Other sponsors include the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and the Kuwait Banking Association.
This action will cause a huge impact inside and outside of Kuwait and will bring major attention to the needs of mentally disabled people around the world, believes Al-Bader.
Along with him and his son, the crew includes Khaled Al-Dosari and a crew of 16 sailors.
After their visits to Bahrain and Qatar, some of the nations they are scheduled to make stops at are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, France, Britain and the US. (end) nnd.sd