MANDEVILLE, Manchester:
PARENTS OF children with physical disabilities who are now being assisted by the 3Ds Project Group, will be facing a more difficult time ahead, if the organisation cannot find a new location to house its operation by May 9.
Three Ds Projects, dedicated to the development of persons with disabilities, is one of the regions first community-based rehabilitation programme, geared towards the very young with physical disabilities.
The group was served with a stop order and then hauled into court recently by the Manchester Parish Council, for operating the Kiddies Place Day Care Centre in the Greenvale community of Mandeville, which is zoned for residential use only.
According to 3Ds project manager, Gloria Gayle, the day care centre is caring for 26 disabled children who must now be placed elsewhere.
Parents who spoke with The Gleaner said one of the features they liked about the centre was its non-discriminatory policy which allowed for the integration of the disabled with those not suffering from any disability.
They said such a policy had allowed children to accept and appreciate each others difference in physical condition from an early age. They said that set the foundation for the children to grow up with positive attitudes towards persons with physical disabilities.
The 3Ds Project which is a non-profit organisation operates similar to programmes in St. Mary, St. Catherine, St. Thomas and Portland. According to Mrs. Gayle, when the case was called up in the Mandeville Resident Magistrate's Court last week, the group was given until May 9 to vacate their present location, or face an unspecified fine for each day they fail to move after that date.
She said the group was finding it difficult to find a new location suitable for positive learning attitudes, because people did not want such a facility in their neighbourhood. She explained that a commercial area was not the proper environment for the type of integration the children needed.
