Cuban Ambassador to Guyana Julio Marchante, along with representatives of Caricom and other stakeholders yesterday paid a visit to the site of the Regional Centre for Stimulating the Development of Children, Adolescents and Young People with Special Educational Needs Associated with Disabilities, located at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).
According to Ambassador Marchante, research suggests that 16.2% of Guyana’s population has some type of disability.
The centre will facilitate training for the management of persons with disabilities for not only teachers and social workers, but parents and family members of disabled individuals as well. The services of the centre will serve all of Guyana and also extend to the rest of the Caricom region.
The project’s coordinator Jorge Duvalon Ramirez stated that the project’s main objective was “to train human resources in the aspects of valuation, diagnosis, language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological treatment, prevention, rehabilitation and social integration service with a psycho-pedagogical and socially inclusive approach.”
Currently, the project is in the stage of diagnosing the state of situation in Guyana as far disabilities are concerned and selecting personnel to receive training. The data gathered to produce a diagnosis will inform the creation of programmes that will be offered at the training centre.
At present, the physical structure is 85% completed, with the finished space intended to accommodate classrooms, a physical rehabilitation room, a conference room, play area and training quarters.
Although the physical structure was funded by the Government of Guyana, the technical support aspect of the project is being backed by the Cuban government.
The collaboration, according to Marchante, is expected to concrete ties between Cuba and Caricom, of which President David Granger currently serves as Chairman.
In December, a Tripartite Cooperation and Technical Assistance Agreement to establish a centre to assist young people with disabilities was signed between Caricom, Guyana and Cuba.
Also present at the visit yesterday were representatives from the Ministries of Education, Public Health and Foreign Affairs.
