BY EVERARD OWEN

Observer writer

MISS Portland Festival Queen 2014 Tahera Brown is using the platform she has to launch a project aimed at helping special needs children throughout the parish.

According to Brown, a component of the project will be to enhance the recreational facility of Randolph Lopez School of Hope and Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD) in the parish.

Brown, who is also a final-year student of Hospitality & Tourism Management at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in the parish said there are plans to host an annual charity event to assist with maintenance and development of the institutions.

She noted that her other objectives are to create opportunities for socialisation and improved communication within the special needs community through recreational activities; improve learning and educational opportunities for the special needs community; provide opportunities for public sensitisation about the special needs community and foster equal opportunities for happiness, love and education among the special needs community.

Brown said she selected the project because Portland, which is known for its natural beauty, warmth and comradeship, is very accommodative to everyone including members of the special needs community.

” Some persons were born being able to live their life independently of disability challenges, while others, without choice have to live with the challenge of one or more disabilities,” Brown said, adding, “Most times they have to rely on others to help them make their dreams in life become a reality.”

She noted that Randolph Lopez School of Hope and the Jamaica Association for the Deaf in Port Antonio, which cater to students with special needs, have been making a significant contribution to the parish. However, she noted that there is the need for the wider society to join hands with the institutions in caring for these children.

“Portland, and Jamaica by extension, has the potential to assist this institution to improve the lives of the children and the quality services and care given to them and also, possibly, extend the services in the future to accommodate persons with other types and severe cases of disabilities,” she said.

Additionally, she noted that there is the need for increased mobilisation in public awareness and sensitisation for the special needs community in Portland, and by extension Jamaica.

“Sensitisation is of major importance in ensuring the safety and required care of the special needs community. Persons will be better able to give the right type of care and support when they are more knowledgeable the challenges these children encounter and also the special gifting that they possess because most of them are very talented,” she said.

According to Brown, her aim for the project is to develop positive values and attitudes among the special needs community in Portland through recreation and socialisation, while stimulating and facilitating the public’s interest in caring for these children.

The aim, to create public awareness and sensitisation, she said, is paramount in the execution of the project.

“I have been among children with special needs and, although they have disabilities, they can be very amusing and there is not a dull day with them,” she said. “They are very talented and I have grown to appreciate them, and they have great gifts. They are usually very caring and loving and very amusing at times”.

Brown said although the recently staged charity concert to raise funds to assist the two institutions did not yield the intended results, she is still grateful for the assistance.

“I thank Rhythm 2000 band, the Ministry of Health, Port Antonio High School, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, and the various artistes that supported, although I did not achieve what I set out to accomplish,” she said, adding, “The project was challenging and I got assistance from my classmates as I was involved with my major coursework at the time”.