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The SNAP Centre, located in Kew Town, Providenciales says it has seen its support dropped and is therefore appealing to the general public for assistance.
Caregiver of the Centre, Paulette Simmons is quoted as telling the SUN Newspaper that financial support from the community has plummeted, but said she and other caregivers at the institution are thankful that some entities continued to give.
Speaking with the newspaper while on a tour with the children at the Enid Capron Primary School during World Disabilities Day earlier this month, Ms Simmons said “We get a lot of support, but not much as we have been expecting. It could be the economy, because before the recession, we had much more support, but now things have dropped. We are still thankful to God that persons still remember us at the centre and would still come, just to visit and at times, bring gifts for the children.
Ms. Simmons also called for more focus on special needs awareness, especially from the general public. She noted that children with special needs are not being treated with the same level of adoration and love as those that are able bodied. According to her, children with disabilities are no less worthy than those born without disabilities.
“There are a lot of people in the community not focusing on children with special needs, but I would encourage each and everyone in the community to let us focus on them, because they are special like our normal kids; they are special in their own way that God had created them,” Simmons noted.
Currently there are six students at the SNAP Centre, ranging from ages 7 to 16 years. Ms. Simmons said the SNAP Centre operates as a regular learning institution, starting each morning with regular devotion, before delving into the curriculum.
She said students with speech impediment are taught how to call and identify words and activities that happen in their school, home and community. Students are also taught how to pronounce their names, identify places in and around their surroundings.
She said those with the capacity to learn like normal children, but are at lower levels such as K1, when they should have been at grade two, are taught how to read, call words and are given basic math problems.
Meanwhile, Special Education Teacher at the Enid Capron Primary School, Carolyn Johnson, said each year on World Disabilities Day, children and students from that institution would visit the SNAP Centre, to have lunch and interact with the students, but the SNAP Centre decided that they would be the guests this time around. She said the children enjoyed themselves, since they spent the day interacting with children at Enid Capron and visited their playground where they had a great deal of fun.
