– part and parcel of human resource development
AS the Golden Grove /Diamond Place community continues to stand tall in terms of all-round development over the years, kudos are in order for the high premium being placed on the educational development of its children, not only by way of the many schools – from nursery to secondary– but essentially the establishment and maintenance of a school for children with special needs.
Housed in the compound of the Diamond Primary School, the facility was established in September 1988. Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with SIMAP (the Social Impact Amelioration Project) as the executing agency, it also had as a sponsor, the United Women for Special Needs Children – a body of Guyanese professional women who would find out the needs of special schools and strategise in terms of assisting to satisfy those needs.
The school is headed by Wendy Grimmond-Webster, with a support staff of 13, including one male, in addition to one overseas volunteer, Debra Stenson. Stenson coaches the students in art and craft production. Under the purview of the Ministry of Education, the institution also has the support of the Ministry of Health, as well as the National Centre for Education Research and Development (NCERD) and the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).
Having grown from strength to strength over the last 30 years, the facility currently has enrolled some 69 children between the ages of 5 to 16 years. It caters for both boys and girls who have proved to be very responsive to the programme. The teachers who are very caring and compassionate, have developed a close bonding with them; hence, it was quite an emotional moment when more than 100 students graduated from the programme during a recent ceremony held at the David Rose School for the Handicapped.
The Diamond School for Children with Special Needs is a place where love abounds, with absolutely no discrimination. Commending the performance of the teachers and their caring and compassionate attitude to the children, Webster told the Pepperpot Magazine: “We have loving teachers. Whilst they are not perfect, they apply themselves professionally and are always willing to reach out and go that extra mile for the children – whatever their needs. They would clean them thoroughly (if the child is not able to do it); comb their hair; give them manicures and pedicures- you name it, and it’s always a sad moment when the time would have come for them to leave the school.”
Who are Children with Special Needs?
According to Webster, the children with special needs enrolled at the school include those who have learning disabilities or other conditions such as Downs Syndrome; hearing and sight impairment; Cerebral Palsy; Autism, etc. Other conditions are known to include: neurological disorders; difficulty listening, thinking or doing mathematical calculations.
In broad outline, learning disabilities are said to impact the way children are able to process and understand information.
The headmistress outlined that since most of the children are not academically inclined, the school conducts training programmes in leather- craft designing and teaches them to make leather slippers, belts, purses and slippers and it’s amazing to see the interesting creations with which they would come up. Last term, 15 persons received coaching in leather craft, while this term another batch will pursue training in straw craft, using tibisiri. That programme is being sponsored by the Board of Industrial Training.
The making of leather craft is a good thing for them, Webster says, since, it is a means of teaching them a skill so that when they leave the institution, they would have a skill to take back with them. It is also a way of improving their lives and making them proud products of society, Webster added.
Meanwhile, there is an ongoing School Feeding Programme, through which the children are all provided daily lunches, free of charge. In addition, there are aquatic sessions at the Colgrain Swimming Pool where they are taken to the pool every Thursday to engage in swimming. That too is sponsored by BIT.
According to Premier Aquatics, “Swimming has a myriad of benefits for all children, but learning to swim is particularly beneficial for children with special needs.” The benefits include the boosting of physical activity levels and the development of self-confidence and teaching a life-saving skill.
The headmistress has commended the Ministry of Education and NCERD for doing an excellent job at sensitising people about the School for Children with Special Needs , among other things. “Parents need to know about the service the school provides. There are too many children with special needs at home who could be benefitting from the programme; hence, there is a need for more outreach work so as to sensitise the public about the programme and how their children can benefit from it,” Ms. Webster concluded.
