Until recently, Carolina had access to a large part of the João da Rosa Basic School (EB) 2,3 João da Rosa, in Olhão, which was fenced. But thanks to an elevator that was installed at the school and officially opened this Friday, this 5th grade student, who travels in a wheelchair, will now be able to climb comfortably to the 1st floor of the establishment.
The Regional Delegation of Education and the City Council and Olhão joined efforts to install an elevator that can meet the needs of Carolina, as well as other students and employees with reduced mobility who may belong to this school community.
The investment amounted to 30 thousand euros, with the Ministry of Education, through its Algarvian delegation, guaranteeing two-thirds of the financing of the work, around 20 thousand euros, and the local authority providing the remaining amount.
Carolina cannot be present at the opening, for health reasons, but she will already find it fully functional when she returns to school. And it won't even be the first time you've entered it, since you've already been invited to try it.
This elevator was built specifically with this student in mind, who arrived at João da Rosa at the beginning of this school year. The 1st cycle was completed at Cavalinha school, in the same grouping, which also underwent adaptation works a few years ago, namely the installation of a chair on the staircase that gives access to that establishment's cafeteria.
This time, the option was to build an elevator, a “better” solution and whose cost “was similar”, according to Luís Felício, director of the João da Rosa Schools Group.
As explained to the Sul Informação responsible for the educational establishment, the 1st floor of the school is the place where the vast majority of classrooms are concentrated and it is also where the library and laboratories are located. In other words, the fact that Carolina could not access this floor of the building without help disrupted her school life.
«The fact that Carolina can access all the spaces of the school, like other students, gives us enormous satisfaction», assured Luís Felício.
“This process ended up starting a little later than we wanted. We didn't know if Carolina was going to stay in the grouping, but I was barely sure she wanted to stay here, so I made a special request to the regional delegation. The Secretary of State agreed, very quickly, to advance with part of the value of the work and the local authority guaranteed the rest», he explained.
The intervention was eventually integrated into the investment plan of the Algarve Regional Delegation for Education for 2017.
"In this case, it was justified, taking into account that it was impossible for children with reduced mobility to have access to all areas of the school, frequently and regularly", framed Francisco Marques, Regional Delegate for Education of the Algarve, in statements to our newspaper.
«This is a huge contribution to having a truly inclusive school, where all spaces are accessible», considered Francisco Marques.
An idea that was reinforced by the mayor of Olhão António Pina. «Just like that, an investment of 30 euros can seem huge, when it comes to just one student. But this is a bet on inclusion, which makes perfect sense», he said.
The new equipment will be used by Carolina, but also by other students who, temporarily or permanently, have difficulties in getting around. «A student with a broken foot or leg and someone who visits the school and has special needs, also find an answer here», illustrated Luís Felício.
Francisco Marques added that the installation of this elevator was part of a series of requalification works that were carried out in schools in various parts of the Algarve, «from Sotavento to Barlavento», over the past year. The total investment amounted to «about 700 thousand euros».
In 2018, this effort will continue «and the budget will even be increased», assured the representative of the Ministry of Education in the Algarve. «In the investment plan, works are foreseen that will amount to close to 1 million euros, a considerable amount. We are already preparing the terms of reference and the priorities were worked out with the school directors and with the municipalities themselves», he revealed.
At issue are “works for the requalification of schools and spaces in some educational establishments”.
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