FOUR fathers with special needs children from the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre and the Harold B. Davis Special School were honoured on Thursday by the two institutions, for their outstanding dedication to taking care of their children.

Delivering opening remarks, social worker attached to the centre, Odessa Layne, said that good fathers are valuable assets to society and ought to be equally recognised for their efforts towards improving the lives of their children.

“We are well aware of the unique challenges faced in raising a child with special needs, and have seen your rise to meet these challenges admirably. We have seen your affection towards your children by expressing your care, your love and your encouragement in your physical and verbal interaction with your child,” she said, addressing the four fathers, Terrence McAllister, Clinton Chin, Odinga Caldeira and Azam Hunte.

“As we honour you today we hope that our other fathers may see this and emulate your actions and that other families, especially those with children with disabilities, will take this as an opportunity and develop a greater appreciation for one another and recognise their value.”

McAllister was described as a mannerly and reliable man, who takes tremendous interest in his daughter’s welfare and even helps out others by lifting children who are not mobile, assisting on field trips and decorating the classrooms.

Meanwhile, Hunte who is a single parent of a 13-year-old girl with bone complications, also has a physical disability of his own but was described as a humble and polite man who enjoys spending the holidays with this daughter.

They both told the Pepperpot Magazine, that the best part about being a father is being able to provide for and take care of their children.
Another one of the fathers, Clinton Chin, was described as a friendly man; one who greets all the staff and interacts with the centre’s children each time he visits.

Speaking with the magazine he said: “People always ask me how is it that we can go through a day with a smile having a child with a disability [but] my daughter has a roof over her head and she has 10 square meals a day,” he said humorously, adding:

“Some children don’t know where they’re going to sleep at nights, so why should I complain? I have to accept that she is in a much better state and shape than a lot of children.”
Chin’s 18-year-old daughter suffers from epilepsy but Chin says this reality does not stop him from showing her the world through travelling.

Chin believes that more can be done to eliminate the stigma against Persons With Disabilities (PWDs), which would see many individuals and children being permitted a chance at a normal life.
Being honoured too was, Odinga Omawalli Caldeira, who was described as extremely dedicated as he withstands the hectic West Bank traffic to regularly visit his four-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy.

“Regardless of what I love her to the dust, regardless of whether she walks, whether she talks, whatever it is, she’s God’s work and I love her to the dust. I don’t care what nobody says, I just love her and I love being a father when it comes to her,” he said.

The Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre (PRRC) was established in January 1967, and is capable of providing services for up to 30 residents while the out-patient clinics register in excess of 100 new patients annually.

Meanwhile, the Harold B. Davis Special School was commissioned in 2014 and is attached to the PPRC as a school for the differently abled.