João asked to speak and thanked, on behalf of himself and his two-month companions, for the different holidays they had had. «I enjoyed going to the beach, talking to Inês, being in these activities. It was a lot of fun!”, he guaranteed. João was one of 16 young people and children from the municipality of Portimão who, from 16 July to 14 September, participated in the FICA project – Inclusive Holidays for the Algarve Community, promoted by Teia d'Impulsos association.
Over two intense months, this group of young people with multiple disabilities was able to dance, do yoga and meditation, try pottery, make candles, go to the hairdresser, walk in the catwalks, visiting the Pedagogical Farm, cooking, making plastic, psychomotor and dramatic expression. "They had vacations, some for the first time in many years, and so did their caregivers", summarized Cândida Pereira, technician of the Teia d'Impulsos association responsible for the project, in statements to Sul Informação.
“One of the girls, Ciza, hasn't been to the beach for eleven years and that's why it was a joy to be able to give her that”, recalled psychologist Isabel Quirino, one of the volunteers of this project.
The idea of promoting holidays for children and young people with various types of disabilities came “from a request for help from parents in the municipality of Portimão, who had no answer for their children,” explained Cândida Pereira. "These kids can't be alone at home, nor can their parents stop working to accompany them in the summer." Often, they even live with their mother, being single parents, which further complicates the situation.
This "first season" of FICA had 16 young people enrolled, "but there are many more kids at home who haven't shown up here. And we want to reach all of them», appealed Cândida Pereira.
In Portimão, there is (yet) no Occupational Activities Center (CAO) that can accommodate these kids and the problem becomes more acute during the summer holidays, when not even schools can receive them. That's how people thought about organizing a holiday camp, establishing a bridge with the Escola Secundária Poeta António Aleixo, which even has “the structure assembled, with adapted bathrooms, for example”.
To promote this first project, which had the financial support of the Municipality of Portimão and logistical support from the Poeta António Aleixo Schools Group, as well as the Parish Councils of Alvor and Portimão, Teia d'Impulsos hired four animators – Elisabete, Vitor, Inês and Rosângela – but it also counted on the work of volunteers.
Last Friday, at the project closing party, Teresa Mendes, councilor of Portimão Council and with experience in these matters as she was the director of a group of schools, made a point of thanking the volunteers and animators, «for having provided these two months of vacation to these young people, who repay you with many smiles».
The party took place at the Raiz space, the former Pedra Mourinha school that is now the headquarters of the Web of Impulses, with the presence of young people, their parents and other family members, technicians and leaders of the association, mayors and volunteers.
Dirce, Bia's mother, one of the young participants, guaranteed that her daughter had "this year, a spectacular holiday!"
“My daughter is no longer in school, because she reached 18 years old. I'm a teacher, but I've been at home for a year, I gave up teaching in order to be with my daughter. But it was good that this spectacular space at Teia could be transformed into a CAO, so that my daughter and others like her could be more accompanied», he said.
Luís Brito, president of Teia d'Impulsos, recalled that «the association has already met with Social Security, but in order to create a CAO, there are a series of requirements, in terms of facilities and human resources, that are not yet in place. together".
Councilwoman Teresa Mendes guaranteed that the municipality and the association are "working for the project to continue". And, he added, while there are no conditions for the CAO, the goal is to maintain the Ateliê de Tempos Livres (ATL), so that young people with multiple disabilities continue to have a place to socialize and develop activities.
The potters and teachers Francisco Copeto and Paula Sousa Faria were two of the volunteers who worked, generously and free of charge, over the two months, with the group of 16 young people. “Although I already have, in my professional activity, contact with young people with disabilities, this was a very enriching experience,” said Francisco Copeto.
Paula Faria recalled that «no matter how much people talk about it in schools, true inclusion does not exist. But here I made sure to bring my daughters to all the activities I had with this group. That's true inclusion. And they loved it!»
For Francisco Copeto, the “ideal” would be that these “adapted activities, which we did with clay, could continue throughout the year, on a more regular basis. Working on the plastic expressions of these kids is very important».
At the party, the ceramists made a point of delivering to each of their special students the clay pieces they had produced in the studio, after being baked in the oven. And it was to see them smiling openly, full of pride, showing their parents and friends their little works of art.
The four animators hired by Teia d'Impulsos also remember, already with nostalgia, these two months of intense work. Of the four animators, at least one will no longer collaborate with Teia: Vítor, who is going to Coimbra to study. But the remaining three, if all goes well, could be hired again, for the ATL that the association wants to create, a kind of antechamber for the desired Center for Occupational Activities.
"It was a fantastic experience, we gained more than we gave", he guaranteed, speaking to Sul Informação, the young animator Inês. “Each smile, each hug were like medals for us”, reinforced Rosângela.
“There were parents who told us that their children have evolved a lot in these two months, in terms of speech and mobility. And that they woke up every day eager to come to us», added Elisabete.
The president of Teia d'Impulsos, an association used to to achieve the impossible, he recalled that this project "was put together in a week or so" and proved "that a magnificent thing can be done", with few resources but a lot of will.
“There are many families who have no one to leave their children with, especially after they turn 18 and can no longer go to school. Ciza and Cris, for example, are leaving school due to age limits, and the mothers now have nowhere to leave them. This is what made us create this unique project in the Algarve and what makes us now want to continue», highlighted Isabel Quirino, one of FICA's volunteers and mentors.
Custódio Moreno, regional director of the Portuguese Institute for Youth and Sport, recalled the protocol that his organization will sign with Teia d'Impulsos for adapted sport and guaranteed that, in relation to ATL and CAO, «we will have to find a solution".
The person in charge was very sensitive to the project and underlined that it is “an experience that is important to continue and be replicated in other places”.
"This project will have to continue anyway!", stressed Luís Brito. “Throughout the year, it is important that these families have support. It's a challenge that I throw at you, but I'm the first to go in line, to work for it», concluded the president of Teia d'Impulsos.
A Web of Impulses is trying to reach all families with children and young people with disabilities. If you are in this situation, you can contact the association:
Web of Impulses
Root Space – Rua Francisco Daniel, 8500-797 Portimão
Contacts: 910174814 | 966467870
www.teiadimpulsos.pt
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