Special Needs Children Targeted By The Maia Chung Autism And Disabilities Foundation For Child’s Month
As the Jamaican nation commemorates Child’s Month this May 2018, there are new, positive and far reaching developments already in the works for the Special Needs students at the Ocho Rios Primary School in St Ann.
On Tuesday May 8, 2018 – National Reading Day in Jamaica …The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation and the school’s administration officially launched an alliance; aimed at helping the many special needs children in need in the parish – starting with the Ocho Rios Primary School.
Managing Director of the Foundation Maia Chung presented 10,000 dollars JMD worth of reading materials and art supplies to kick start the Quinn Garren James Smith Special Students Library, for the development of special needs students at the school.
Quinn Smith is the official ambassador of The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation. The idea is to replicate these interventions throughout schools in St. Ann which have the need.
The partnership, between The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation (MCADF) and the Ocho Rios Primary School, was facilitated by one of the school’s guidance counselors Kellian Davis, and fully endorsed by the school’s administration, headed by Mrs. Scott the school’s principal.
The alliance will see the identification of a space, on the school compound, for the students to go to receive the extra support they need, to achieve academic excellence – as pupils who learn differently.
The area will be stocked with the various material requirements of the children…to make their school life effective. This will be done by The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation.
The needs of the Autism affected children at the Ocho Rios Primary School in St . Ann, represents similar scenarios throughout rural Jamaica, where schools with special needs students… do not have the resources necessary for these children to have as fair an academic chance, as the defined neuro-typical learner.
General Manager of the MCADF Wickham Smith explained that the Foundation which has been successfully functioning since 2008…has been able to mainly help urban Autism affected families.
He added, that this is because the organization which is a non-profit and functions solely on donor funding, is very stretched to provide services across the country, to those in need as the expenses of the Autism families are vast.
He said further, “typically most of the work has remained focused in the nation’s capital… where more special needs options are centralized and are easier to fund. So more people can be helped there”.
In 2017 Dolphin Cove Jamaica donated approximately 1 million JMD to aid the work of the Foundation in academic support for Autistic and special needs children. This was fed into the MCADF’s scholarship, academic fund.
Assistant Managing Director Cinquain Smith confirmed that the board and management of the MCADF, saw the move by Dolphin Cove as excellent, in order to assist the start of some consistent help for special needs youth in rural Jamaica ; in a fashion that would be impactful and consistent.
The idea to roll out the donation from Dolphin Cove Ocho Rios, in the parish where the company is located was determined by the board and management of the MCADF.
Founder of the MCADF Maia Chung said we need more companies like Dolphin Cove Jamaica whose tangible investment into the community is what has given the Foundation a decade of successful non stop work in improving the lives of Autism affected families in Jamaica and members of other challenged groups.
Assistant Managing Director Cinquain Smith said our family’s business of philanthropy began mainly in Kingston ten years ago. For the next ten years to come we want to consistently cover the nation. We are here to improve lives for Autistic Jamaicans and leave a legacy of positive support for the challenged community of this great nation.
The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation website is viewable at www.mcadf.org
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