Parents hail new Day & Night Care Centre as ‘safe, comfortable’ facility

The new Day and Night Care and Early Childhood Development Centre has been lauded as a transformative initiative that will provide a safe and comfortable environment for children whose parents have to work day or night shifts.

Parents who gathered in Anna Catherina, Region Three, to witness the commissioning of the $93.8 million facility said they were confident the centre would provide a safe and reliable service.

It is the first of several such 24-hour care facilities to be constructed countrywide in the coming years. The second will be built in Region Four at a cost of $94 million.

Shelliza Ally, a single mother, said she can have the peace of mind at work knowing that her child is in a safe facility.

“It will be very beneficial for me because…when you are at work and you have to leave your kid at home, it is very unsafe because you will be worried…so this centre is a very great initiative for the people of this region,” she said.

Owner of a local daycare, Tessa Bellamy, said that the day and night centre will provide opportunities for parents that facilities like hers are unable to offer due to time constraints.

“My facility opens from 7 AM to 5 PM, and I believe this facility will assist parents who are working night shifts or even later than five o’clock,” she explained.

Clinton Fraser, a father and resident of Cornelia Ida, explained how his work schedules were disrupted because he had to pick up his son from the daycare early in the day.

“I used to take my boy to daycare, and I have to meet home sometimes at 3:30 PM to pick him up…I believe that it is a great help for every parent. Now I can put in an extra hour or two at work,” the father pointed out.

Grandfather Siddiqi Haniff also shared his views with the Department of Public Information, highlighting the number of economic opportunities that have been created with the commissioning of the facility.

“I see it as economically viable for the parents of children so that they can leave their kids here in good care, go and work, and earn something more for the family…without a facility like this, one parent will have to stay home to take care of the kids because not everyone can afford to pay a caregiver,” Haniff explained.

Commissioning the facility, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali explained how the construction of these day and night care centres is integrally linked to the government’s poverty reduction strategy.

The president said this investment aims to give women who have stayed at home to care for their children the economic opportunities they have missed.

“We’ve all grown up in different homes, but under similar circumstances where we’ve seen mothers struggle to achieve an education if they never had the opportunity…today, we have been able to invest in the system. So much so that the majority of opportunities are taken up by women and mothers,” he said.

An estimated $334 million has been invested to enhance early childhood education, reaffirming the PPP/C government’s commitment to the well-being of the nation’s children.