By Glenda Anderson , Staff ReporterCLOSE TO 270 developmentally-challenged preschoolers of the island's sole 'Early Stimulation Project' (a programme of development assessment and early intervention) are to benefit from a $150,000 cash gift from the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Council (KSAC) to aid with the centre's operations.
The donation to be made ($50,000 yearly) over the next three years was given by Mayor Desmond McKenzie at the group's third annual graduation exercise held on Tuesday, September 28 at the North Street Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Kingston.
Specially invited guest at the event, Mayor McKenzie made the contribution in honor of the project's founding director, Elaine Rainford (deceased) and called on parents and the wider society to do good by their disabled children and older family members, some of whom he noted were abandoned in nursing homes.
"We have a duty to provide them with the necessary support to make their lives more comfortable," he said.
The mayor pointed to sweeping new changes locally to support the disabled, especially the National Disability Act which offers legislative strength to the council's undertakings.
"All new building plans must have proper facilities for the disabled to access and use these faci-lities... the KSAC will not be approving any building plan which does not include this," he said.
Of 27 youngsters who were down for graduation, 11 were presented with certificates of completion. The students will now go on to primary education facilities depending on their abilities.
The 'Early Stimulation Project' was started in 1975 by Dr. Molly Thorbourne and mainly serves the corporate areas, but with clients from the rural areas as well. The centre provides individual rehabilitation for pre-school disabled children, assessment using internationally designed standardised tests, physiotherapy, as well as a home intervention program which facilitates visits to homes, private and public schools, and nurseries.
