Africa-Press – Namibia. A GROUP of Capricorn employees, last Friday, reached out to the Side-by-Side Early Intervention Centre for special needs children in Windhoek’s Goreangab settlement.
The group of 33 employees sponsored the construction of three ramps at the centre to improve the mobility of wheelchair users in accessing classrooms and navigating around the centre.
Capricorn’s group executive, brand and corporate affairs Marlize Horn said all children need love, support and care, and a positive environment helps ensure that those with special needs maintain a sense of self-worth and build confidence.
“Our experience here was eye-opening, especially how the very committed and passionate staff at the centre view what many would classify as disabilities, as superpowers. It’s beautiful to see how each child, individually, is encouraged to develop at their own pace and become the best version of themselves.”
During the visit, the group also supported the centre by creating an outdoor sensory path to help children with sensory integration issues improve cognitive abilities, and painting chalk boards and tyre planting beds in the garden. They also engaged the children in fun development activities.
The director of the centre, Huipie van Wyk, said children with special needs see themselves as superheroes and believe that there is nothing that can stop them to achieve their goals.
“Those of us who are not living with disabilities have the responsibility to keep encouraging these children to become the superheroes they see within themselves and can also learn from them.”
The Side-by-Side Early Intervention Centre is a registered non-profit organisation providing early childhood development opportunities to children with special needs. It focuses on training parents, communities, and caregivers to provide their children with the support they need at home.
Due to a lack of national focus on early intervention and pre-primary education for children with disabilities, the centre has stepped in to provide the much-needed support.
The centre consists of a day care centre, which operates during the week and caters to 30 children with multiple and severe disabilities and runs early intervention sessions, accommodating 44 families and helping babies and toddlers to achieve their developmental milestones.
It runs a neuro-natal clinic every Thursday to follow-up on children born with chances of developmental delays and conducts workshops throughout the year, providing staff, parents, class assistants and kindergarten teachers training on early childhood development matters and special school readiness, focusing on preparing children to enter special needs or mainstream schools.
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