Biography
Maha Elazar has been involved in the rehabilitation of students with special needs for the last 28 years in the UAE. She has been the Managing Director of the non-profit Awladouna Center for People with Disabilities since its founding in July 2002. As part of her work, Elazar has produced a dedicated academic and non academic curriculum that has had successful results in integrating students with special needs into mainstream schools. Early in her career she workd on humanitarian projects in Beirut with the Migrant Community Centre, attending to the welfare of underprivileged children in Beirut schools. She also worked on a UNICEF project that aimed to analyse and remedy the obstacles faced by refugee children in various camps in Beirut. She received her BA in social work specialising in mental disabilities from the Lebanese American University in Beirut.