Companies and Organisations
Are you a company that is looking for a small but trustworthy organisation to support? Perhaps you are holding a party or a corporate event and would like to donate the profits to something different. The school currently receives small donations from individuals but has no support from large companies, organisations or from government. We are looking for substantial extra funds for a number of areas we have identified as necessary for the schools future. Specific projects that remain unfunded at present are listed below but we have lots more ideas in our latest long-term strategy. So if you have some ideas of your own, please contact the school and we can discuss the possibilities.
·Get a permanent building for the School
·Improve our transport facilities
·Give financial support for running costs and salaries
·Improve access to habilitation, in particular, speech therapy
·Improve rights awareness amongst parents, children and the community
·Improve awareness of the issues facing children with special educational needs within the community
·Improve access to dietary information for parents
Help I.D.E School to get a permanent building – We currently rent our premises and need to find a permanent building in the Nugegoda area of Colombo. A permanent building is needed for the stability of the school and a larger building is needed to increase the number of children we can support. More space is also needed for when the therapists visit the school. At the present time, classes are held in the same room as therapy sessions. If one child is agitated or distressed, then other children often become agitated. A therapy/sensory area would vastly improve the quality of service for the children. If a much larger building were found then more children could also be accepted to the school.
Budget:
·Costs of a new building (approx. $250,000 - $300,000 for recently built, 2-story building, 30-40 perches/150-200m2)
·Minor costs of adapting new building
Help improve our transport facilities – We are looking for funders to support a school bus to be used for outings and transport to and from school for the children. Currently we can only provide hired transport to our weekly swimming lessons and we must cover the cost.
Budget:
·Van hire per visit – 1,500 Rs ($15)
·Van hire per day – 4,500 Rs ($45)
·Cost of new van – 2,000,000 Rs ($20,000)
Give financial support for running costs and salaries – At I.D.E School, we believe that EVERY child has a right to education. At present, government facilities for children with intellectual disabilities are inadequate and not all children are able to learn in this environment. There is a need for a campaign for the government to provide financial support for the salaries of the teachers and running costs of the buildings. However, until this campaign is successful, our teachers need to be paid for the challenging job that they do. If your organisation is able to help with any of the running costs of the school then please do contact us.
Budget:
·Staff salaries – 160,000 Rs per month ($1,200)
·Visiting staff salaries – 70,000 Rs per month ($530)
·Rent of premises - 50,000 Rs per month ($375)
·Utilities (water, electricity) – 10,000 Rs per month ($75)
·Administration Costs (Phone, Stationary, Maintenance etc) – 30,000 Rs per month ($225)
Help improve access to habilitation, in particular, speech therapy - Speech and occupational therapy is vital for our children and should be seen as a basic right and not a luxury. Such therapies really empower each child. They help them to develop ways to communicate their emotions and interests as well as giving them the tools to live more independently and be included by their communities. However, some parents cannot afford the cost of the weekly visiting therapists. One project we have considered is to find a more cost-effective way of providing speech therapy to all the children who could benefit from it. An in-house therapist would be able to provide support and training to parents and teachers so sessions could be practiced at home and during the rest of school time. It is more expensive but more cost-effective than the current visits. It would also mean speech therapy is available to ALL children and not just those whose parents can afford it.
Help to improve rights awareness amongst parents, children and the community - We are in the process of considering ways we can improve awareness of the rights of children with disability and the latest thinking in disability amongst parents, teachers and children. We are seeking posters and material about the new UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities but would be interested in any projects/materials/activities aimed at children with intellectual disabilities or their parents.
Help to improve awareness of the issues facing children with special educational needs within the community - The children face attitudinal barriers in their communities and sometimes from their parents. We would be interested in projects which improved understanding in the community about the abilities of the children and not just focusing on their inabilities.
Help to improve access to dietary information for parents - Special diets for children with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome can vastly improve the quality of life for a child with these impairments. Previous attempts to work with parents on this issue have failed due to lack of special food at local level and lack of real understanding from parents about the usefulness of special diets. The school would like to run a project to invite a local nutritional specialist to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of such a programme using locally available ingredients.
