Why a respite day center?
Anyone who has a child with disabilities, or has a close
relationship with someone who does, knows that, as precious as these children
are, caring for them is often a demanding job. Caregivers need a break from
time to time, no matter what their other life circumstances might be.
This need is compounded in Cambodia where support services are severely lacking and where caring for a child with disabilities can become a tremendous financial burden for a family. A child with disabilities often has a greater need for health care services which are disproportionately expensive in Cambodia, and caring for a child with special needs diminishes a family's capacity for income generation.
The benefits of a respite day center for these children and families are obvious: the primary caregiver receives some much-needed relief from caregiving for part of the day during which it is possible to engage in activity that generates income for the family or in other ways supports the needs of the family. This can help to relieve stress for the whole family. Meanwhile, the child who attends the respite day center has increased opportunity for learning and therapeutic intervention as well as greater social interaction and opportunity to get out into the community.
We plan to work with the public school to use their facility which will help in building relationships there and potentially become a bridge to greater inclusion with better support for children with disabilities in the public school system in the future. There are similar respite programs in Cambodia, so we know it can work in this context, however, since none of these programs are close enough for the children in the ABLE program to access, we plan to start our own.
This need is compounded in Cambodia where support services are severely lacking and where caring for a child with disabilities can become a tremendous financial burden for a family. A child with disabilities often has a greater need for health care services which are disproportionately expensive in Cambodia, and caring for a child with special needs diminishes a family's capacity for income generation.
The benefits of a respite day center for these children and families are obvious: the primary caregiver receives some much-needed relief from caregiving for part of the day during which it is possible to engage in activity that generates income for the family or in other ways supports the needs of the family. This can help to relieve stress for the whole family. Meanwhile, the child who attends the respite day center has increased opportunity for learning and therapeutic intervention as well as greater social interaction and opportunity to get out into the community.
We plan to work with the public school to use their facility which will help in building relationships there and potentially become a bridge to greater inclusion with better support for children with disabilities in the public school system in the future. There are similar respite programs in Cambodia, so we know it can work in this context, however, since none of these programs are close enough for the children in the ABLE program to access, we plan to start our own.
No comments:
Post a Comment