Top politicians meet Sophia at opening

Top politicians meet Sophia at opening

16 March 2016

A YOUNG Downpatrick girl joined two of the Province’s leading politicians at the official opening of a new centre for youngsters with learning disabilities in Belfast last week.

Sophia Magee — who suffers from the genetic disorder Cornelia de Lange syndrome that can lead to severe developmental anomalies and affects the physical and intellectual development of a child — was with First and Deputy First Ministers, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness, and Health Minister, Simon Hamilton, at the opening of the £4.6m Mencap facility.

Three year-old Sophia, who was with her granddad Eamon Fitzsimons for the ceremony at the former Newtownbreda Primary School site, is one of a number of children from the Down area who attends the new centre which caters for pre-nursery school children with special needs.

Students at Downpatrick’s De La Salle High School helped raise funds for the new centre, with many of the area’s maintained primary schools also assisting Mencap with its fundraising drive.

Eamon said Sophia and her family are grateful to everyone who contributed towards the development costs of the new centre which offers a range of services including a children’s nursery, treatment rooms and a hub for young people to get involved with arts and cultural programmes.

Last year, Mr Fitzsimons, former principal at St Nicholas’ Primary School in Ardglass, persuaded a number of schools in the Downpatrick area to embark upon a range of fundraising initiatives to help build the new unit in Belfast for children from across the Province aged between two and four.

He explained the new facility focuses on developing the independence of children and young people with a learning disability and providing families with emotional and practical support.

“The Rory Foundation and Ulster Rugby also backed the development of the new centre which is a vitally important facility. Two children are born every week in Northern Ireland with a severe mental or physical disability and there is a real need for this new centre,” he continued. 

Eamon said the new facility opened last year to replace the charity’s previous base which was housed in an old Victorian building. Describing the modern new building as a “wonderful facility,” he revealed the centre is the first of its kind in Ireland.

“Mencap raised £1.7m and I am delighted that a number of schools in the Downpatrick area also contributed towards the construction costs. The new centre is making such a difference to Sophia and other young children,” he said. “The centre also provides an opportunity for parents to meet and they also help each other out by sharing experiences and knowledge.”

Mrs Foster said the opening of the state-of-the-art centre reaffirms the Northern Ireland Executive’s commitment to addressing and removing obstacles that people with disabilities face to ensure they have the same equality of opportunity and equality of treatment enjoyed by others in society.

“I am immensely proud of Northern Ireland and I want to ensure that our young people and adults with a learning disability receive the support they need to reach their full potential and to live the life they want to lead,” she added.

The Department of Health contributed £2.5m towards the Mencap project which Mr McGuinness described as a “major asset that will transform and improve the lives of everyone who comes through the door,” while Mr Hamilton said the funding provided by his department has been “fundamental” in making the Mencap scheme a reality.