By Mia Anthony
In a gesture aimed at supporting the differently-abled community, Mohammed’s Bookstore Limited of Trinidad and Tobago has donated a swimming pool to the SEND [Special Education Needs/ Disability] Diagnostics Centre in Turkeyen.
The facility, named the “Edward Mohammed Pool”, honours the son of Teddy Mohammed, the bookstore’s owner, who shares a personal connection to the differently-abled community.
The sod-turning ceremony for the project was held on January 3, 2023. The pool, which was funded entirely by Mohammed’s Bookstore Limited, is the result of a longstanding collaboration between Teddy Mohammed and the Ministry of Education. Mohammed, whose son is visually impaired, shared his motivation for the donation, recounting the story of how he first discovered his son’s natural affinity for swimming.
Speaking with the Sunday Stabroek, Mohammed reflected on the day when he took his son, who is blind, to a pool for some recreational fun. Initially cautious, Mohammed ensured his son wore inflatable floats. “One of the floats burst while I was watching him closely,” he recalled, adding, “But to my surprise, he kept swimming, so I decided to take off the other float. He just swam effortlessly, as if it was second nature to him.”