Disability Centre reopens on Monday after long COVID shutdown and closes suddenly on Wednesday without notice
After a mere three days of operation, the Disability Centre was closed today, Wednesday, January 25, until further notice, leaving families wondering what they are to do next.
The Centre, located on Factory Road, serves as a learning and recreational centre for persons living with disabilities.
Some family members tell REAL News that it was only on Monday, January 22, that the facility was reopened – having stood closed since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to their reports, at the end of today’s activities, participants in the programme were handed a letter, which advised that the Centre was being closed for renovation. Reportedly, no start or end dates for the project were given.
One woman is perplexed by this sudden change of events and is asking why the Centre was reopened at all if the Government knew that construction work was imminent. Further, she asks, what alternative arrangements can families make at this time when no notice was given.
The Centre came in for criticism last year from persons who claimed their disabled relatives were asked to produce Voter ID cards in order to get food vouchers from the Ministry of Social Transformation.
Since the General Election last week, two Ministers of Government – Sir Molwyn Joseph and Samantha Marshall – were assigned responsibility for social programmes. Therefore, persons are asking why the Centre has been closed so abruptly – again disappointing the persons who learn and socialize there.
Earlier this month, the Centre accepted grant funding from the British Government for the establishment of an aquaponics project.
The objective of the three-year initiative, was to expose the disabled to modern agriculture practices that would broaden their opportunities for employment and enhance their ability to contribute to their households.
