MorrisAN EDUCATION and adaptive aid fund for the disabled is soon to be established, Government Senator Floyd Morris said on Friday.
The visually-impaired Senator, who is also State Minister in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, made the disclosure in a statement to the Senate.
The decision to establish the fund followed extensive deliberations between the Ministry, which has responsibility for the disabled, and the National Advisory Board for persons with a disability. It is being set up with money left by Margaret Moodie, late matron of the University Hospital of the West Indies. The money she left has been growing for 10 years and now stands at roughly $11 million, half of which will go towards the establishment of the education and adaptive aid fund.
Mr. Morris explained that the money will be invested along with a financial input from the Government. The interest will be used to finance adaptive aides such as communication devices, computers and special wheelchairs for the disabled. Two scholarships valued at $100,000 each and tenable at any tertiary institution will also be awarded. One of the scholarships will be called the Margaret Moodie Scholarship for the disabled, the other will be known as the Government of Jamaica Scholarship for the disabled.
The remaining portion of the money will go towards the construction of a facility to house the Early Stimulation Project and the National Council for Persons with a Disability.
Mr. Morris told the Senate the Government will next year introduce legislation in Parliament designed to benefit the disabled community. Such legislation, he said, will "give teeth" to the National Policy for Persons with a Disability which was tabled in the House of Representatives in September 2000. "This is one of the major issues on the agenda of the disabled community. The legislation will seek to protect the rights and dignity of persons with a disability," Mr. Morris said.
He said that to date 90 persons with varying disabilities had received training in Information Technology. Another 60 are currently in training.
He appealed to members of the disabled community to take advantage of a $50 million loan facility being offered by Government, to start their own business.
