Kingston, Jamaica – Wednesday, March 26, 2014
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| A joyful ribbon-cutting! Sandy Wallace, Resident at Jacob’s Ladder is embraced by a Mustard Seed Community volunteer as she cuts the ribbon for the official opening of the Care Plus Centre of Excellence on Wednesday, March 26. Joining her is Judine Hunter (left), Programme Manager, Special Needs, Digicel Foundation and Thyra Heaven, Board Member, Mustard Seed Communities. Care Plus Centre of Excellence, equipped with rehabilitative and therapeutic facilities, was erected as part of the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary goals, to build 10 Centres of Excellence for Special Needs schools across the island this year. |
The Digicel Foundation has partnered
with Mustard Seed Communities (MSC) to enhance the welfare and quality of life
of persons with disabilities in Jamaica. On Wednesday, March 26th, the
Foundation officially opened a multi-functional centre – Care
Plus Centre of Excellence- at the Jacob’s Ladder community in Moneague, St. Ann. This facility will
expand the scope of skills training courses currently being done with the
residents of MSC.
“The vision of Digicel Foundation augurs well for the lives of
persons living in the Special Needs Communities,” remarked Darcy
Tulloch-Williams, Executive Director of Mustard Seed Communities. “This Centre
will indeed bring out “Excellence’ in the lives of these individuals who are
affected by varying physical and developmental challenges. We are extremely
grateful for this partnership as it will allow us to move beyond offering simply
room and board, and giving them industry. This will undoubtedly build their
self-esteem and enable them to become more educated.”
The Jacob’s Ladder community
is currently the only facility of its kind in Jamaica, catering to the needs of
70 adults with Special Needs. The Care Plus facility, valued at 17 million JMD,
will enhance the capacity of MSC to care for residents by augmenting the skills
training curriculum in the areas of culinary skills, art and craft, information
technology and occupational physiotherapy. Additionally, the Centre will
provide a facility to host awareness forums and workshops for families in the
surrounding areas that require experience and training in dealing with persons
who are differently abled.
Samantha Chantrelle, CEO of the Digicel
Foundation, further reiterated the Foundation’s commitment to the Special Needs
sector in Jamaica. She
said, “The work of the Mustard Seed Communities reflects the conviction of the
Digicel Foundation that the opportunities for those in our society that are
differently abled should not be limited due to lack of resources or adequate
training for their caregivers. So we are pleased to partner with them for the
building of this facility and will remain committed through our Centres of
Excellence programme to provide the highest quality resources that will enable
our Special Needs community to thrive.”
The Care Plus Centre is a
part of the Digicel Foundation’s larger “Centres of Excellence Programme”,
geared at increasing the capacity of Special Needs schools in Jamaica. As
part of its 10th Anniversary celebrations, the Foundation will be
opening 10 Centres of Excellence this year.
About Digicel Foundation
The Digicel Foundation is the largest
local private sector foundation in Jamaica. Since its inception in
2004 the Foundation has invested over J$1.2 billion in communities in which
Digicel operates islandwide. The Digicel Foundation has been proactive in the
areas of Education, Special Needs, and Community Empowerment.
The Digicel Foundation has:
- Invested over J$100 million in their Enrichment Initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Education to improve literacy at the primary school level islandwide.
- Invested over J$38 million in resource rooms, including science and IT labs, in high schools islandwide.
- Committed to building three Special Needs schools, two of which, the STEP Centre, and NAZ Children’s Centre broke ground in 2012.
- Invested over J$60 million in Community Empowerment initiatives over the past four years, including $10 million annually and $15 million in 2012 to support the National Best Communities Competition and Program.
- Invested $13 million in the ‘Back to Roots—Stronger Roots, Stronger Communities, Stronger Nation Project.’ The programme aims to help community organizations become more self-reliant by facilitating their transition to social enterprises, by teaching them how to run sustainable community businesses.
For more
information visit our website at www.digiceljamaicafoundation.org
Twitter:
(@digiceljafdn) https://twitter.com/DigicelJaFdn
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