–for aspiring entrepreneurs who are differently-able
A CALL is out for the government to provide start-up funds for graduates of the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) who want to go into business.
The call came Friday from Chairman of the Centre’s Management Board, Colonel (ret’d) Randy Storm, during the institution’s graduation exercise for 12 differently-able students who have successfully completed the cosmetology and catering programmes.
“Some system for the provision of start-up funds should be provided for graduates who want to get involved in their own little business,” Storm said.

Storm went on to say that although the graduates may have disabilities, they are perfectly capable of working and earning as any “able-bodied” person ; therefore, they need the support from stakeholders so that they can set the example for others who might have a similar interest.
But for them to do that successfully, Storm said, it would be necessary for the government to provide the requisite enabling environment.

As he cautioned the Class of 2017, “Remember, no matter what is provided to you, there will always be people who will say you cannot do this or you cannot do that. But, show them they are wrong; show them you can do it.”
Head of the VTC, Rajdaie Alli, while in full support of what Storm said, cautioned that there might very well be some parents who are not willing to let their children work as per normal.

“Parents ought to give their children support and allow them to go out and go into the world of work,” she said.
She feels that the students are deserving of that much, as they’ve worked hard to complete the four months of training to which they were subjected .

INFLEXIBLE TEACHERS
She reasoned that it is evident that differently-abled students are faced with a number of disadvantages, one being the inability to be the best academic achievers.
If they fail to even achieve, on the other hand, they are not to be blamed; instead, the “inflexible teachers” are the ones who should be held culpable, said Alli.
The Board of Industrial Training (BIT) has been one of the institutions that ensure that the children are successful by providing teachers and funding.

Their assistance has contributed to the graduation of the second batch of students from this programme.
BIT Chief Executive Officer, Maria Khelawan, reassured the school, and by extension the staff of the Ptolemy Reid Rehab Centre, under whose purview the VCT falls, that the Ministry of Social Protection is committed to the provision of services and vocational training.

The services of the centre currently include providing dormitory, day-care, audiology, special education, vocational training, occupational speech, and physiotherapy, besides orthotic and prosthetic appliances.
The Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre was originally established by the Ministry of Health in January 1967 as the Polio Centre. It provided rehabilitative services for those children who had suffered residual paralysis following the 1960 and 1964 polio epidemics.
With the advent of a successful vaccination programme, the incidence of polio declined drastically, and the centre has since opened its doors to persons with other forms of disability.