REPRESENTATIVES of eleven schools from New Amsterdam, Linden, Grove and Georgetown gathered at the National Park playground recently to receive gifts from the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown.
This picture, taken immediately after the presentation ceremony done by the Club’s Community Outreach Chairperson, MsMarva Patterson (left), shows that the facilities are being well utilised for recreational purposes by many other schools and groups
Community Outreach Chairperson Marva Patterson of the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown poses with Past President Sinikka Henry and representatives of the special schools in front of the centre-piece of the National Park Playground
Those schools present were: David Rose School for the Handicapped; New Amsterdam Special School; Grove Special School; St. Roses Unit for the Blind; St. Barnabas Special School; Wismar Resource Unit for the Visually Challenged; Open Doors Vocational Training Centre; Linden Centre for Special Needs Children; Green Heart Autism Society; Gifted Hands Learning Centre; and the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre’s school, recently named in honour of the late Harold B. Davis, late husband of the Charter President of the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown, Ms. Maylene Davis.
In addressing those present at this simple ceremony, Mrs. Davis thanked the representatives of the schools for the hard work they continue to do to ensure that children with special needs receive the care that they require, and praised them for the dedication they demonstrated, which had to come from the heart. She also made special mention of the school that was named after her late husband, saying that it had always had a special place in his heart.
The Inner Wheel Club members, through the contributions to the schools, want to encourage the hard-working staff and provide the children with useful educational and recreational items. This ongoing association with the schools should help spread awareness of the dedicated work and service being provided by the schools, and highlight the needs of these special children, even as it encourages others to support them in whatever way they can.
The items requested by the various schools depended on the special needs of the children in their care. They included play dough, table games, cardboard sheets, poster paint, markers, bats and balls.
It was significant to the Inner Wheel members to do this presentation at the Benab in the National Park Playground, against the backdrop of the playground which, two years ago, was opened to the public after many years of fundraising and extensive renovation and construction. The playground now features, among other things, disability-friendly play equipment such as swings with special safety seats, horizontal bars, steering wheels, and a triple-deck play structure with wave, curved and straight slides, rung and vine climbers, and a bridge.
The layout is arranged to integrate children of all abilities, so that they learn to accept their differences and celebrate their similarities. It is thanks to UNICEF’s support of the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown’s vision for the park that the playground now provides not only a benab for shade, but also walkways, a drinking water fountain, and garbage disposal and washroom facilities.
The Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown is grateful to the many other contributors to the project, such as pioneer donor GT&T; ongoing partner, the National Parks Commission; Architect Rawle Jordon of Rawle Jordan & Associates Inc; and Patterson Associates Quantity Surveyors, who agreed to voluntarily assist with design, quality control, monitoring works on site, and certification of payments; Contractors Ravendra Ramlall and Misir Mohabir and their teams; National Commission on Disability, and Cynthia Massey of the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre, for their invaluable technical inputs and advice.
Other sponors were Scotiabank, AnsaMcAl, Farfan& Mendes Ltd/Mines Services Ltd., Gafoor’s, NT Computeac, P&P Insurance Brokers and Consultants Ltd., Frandec, GTM, Guyenterprise/Guyananet, Republic Bank, Banks DIH, Engraving and Trophy World, Igloo Ice Cream, Citizen’s Bank, Low’s Service Station, Woodpecker Products, INFAB Industrial Steel Fabrication, SAWA (Switzerland), Food for the Poor, C&V Caribbean Shipping Ltd., and DD Signs. All are showcased on the donor board facing the car park, recording permanent testimony of the Club’s gratitude.
In spite of the Club’s enthusiasm and notwithstanding encouragement from sponsors, several persons have expressed strong reservation about the likelihood of vandalism and misuse of the equipment. For example, teenagers and parents have been seen accompanying their children on the seats of swings which are intended only for infants. Some have questioned security and on-going maintenance of the grounds. During construction, and at times when the gate was closed, parents and children accessed the facility by jumping the fence.
These are areas in which the Club would work to promote social responsibility and ownership.
“A lot of hard work has been put in to make this project a reality. Donors’ funds have had to be micro-managed and literally stretched to achieve what we see here today,” the Club’s Playground Project Manager, Evelyn Cheong, says. “And under the circumstances, we are determined that this should not be like some other projects that look great at the opening but go downhill afterwards. The Club is happy that what started out as a dream will make such a difference in the lives of so many children who do not enjoy these facilities either at home or at school; and whose physical, emotional, social and intellectual development will benefit as a result.”
Written By Alex Wayne