THE Cuban Ambassador, members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat and government officials on Friday visited the construction site of a ‘special needs’ facility for persons with disabilities located within the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) compound.

The Regional Centre for Stimulating the Development of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs Associated with Disabilities, aims to train people to manage persons with disabilities. The training includes evaluation and diagnosis, language therapy, occupational therapy, psychological treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and social integration services with a psycho-pedagogical and socially inclusive approach.

Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Julio César González Marchante, told the media he was pleased with the progress of the building. The centre is part of the process of deepening relations between the CARICOM Region and the government of Cuba.
“We will continue developing that; this is one of the proofs, it is something that we can share and we will continue collaborating with CARICOM through our relations,” Ambassador Marchante said.

Assistant Secretary-General for Human and Social Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr Douglas Slater, explained that the establishment of the centre was envisioned at the 2014 Cuba-CARICOM Summit.
“The idea is to train persons to be prepared to manage persons with disabilities at any place in Guyana and in Caribbean countries,” Dr Slater said.

The Cuban government will provide the technical staff required to facilitate the training. Coordinator for the Centre Jorge Duvalón Ramírez in a statement noted that the project is in the diagnostic stage, which includes identifying people with disabilities and selection of personnel for the centre. The Coordinator will be working with the Ministries of Public Health, Education, Social Protection and CARICOM.

(GINA)