La Caye Day Care Centre Opens

Contact: Dana Augustin

Monday, September 11, 2000 – The recently constructed La Caye Day Care Centre in Dennery was officially opened on Sunday, September 10, 2000. The centre was built at a cost of approximately half a million dollars, eighty six percent of which was funded by STABEX, and the rest by government.

The centre has been fully operational from the beginning of this academic school year. It comprises two storerooms, a staff and children’s washroom, a waiting room, a staff room, a kitchen and hall room. It accommodates sixty children between the ages of three months and five years of age, and has a staff complement of five. To access its services, parents are required to pay a monthly fee of $30.00. The centre also provides a meal programme for the children.

One critical component of establishing the centre, was the training of parents and staff in areas relating to early child development. The aim was to empower the community to take greater control in providing that level of care for the children. Government continues to embark on such training exercises. These areas of training include culinary skills, sewing, and handicraft. Parliamentar Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Honourable Jon Odlum stressed the importance of having a day care centre separate from a human resource/community centre. "We draw the line here. The Day Care Centre will not be used for dances because it is detrimental to the children. One needs to recognize that Day Care is a much-needed service in the face of all the major changes in family roles. A comfortable teaching and learning environment is provided. Parents are able to work while their children are being cared for," said Odlum.

Community Development Minister and Parliamentary Representative for the area Honourable Damian Greaves said that such community-based facilities are deemed necessary for the overall development of the people. He pointed out that in 1994, through the Mabouya Valley Development Project (MVDP), a needs assessment survey was carried out for the communities of La Caye, Belmont and Aux Lyons, all situated in the Dennery Basin. Further, Mr. Greaves went on, having established that these farming communities consisted of a growing number of children, most of whom did not have access to basic fundamental needs like education, the MVDP, together with the Ministry of Community Development and the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, Youth and Sports, sought to provide a day care centre for each of these communities. The La Caye Day Care Centre is the first to have opened as a result of that assessment.

Meanwhile proposals are being made to the Poverty Reduction Fund and the Basic Needs Trust Fund, so that a day care centre may be built in the other two communities within the Dennery Basin - Belmont and Aux Lyons.

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