On Thursday, Kyriakos Kousios, Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Kyriakos Kousios described the project to employ and train unemployed people to provide home care services to paraplegic and quadriplegic people as an example to follow.
Speaking at a press conference of the Cyprus Paraplegics Organisation (OPAK), at the organisation's premises, Mr Kousios referred to an "important and pioneering project" whose implementation was the idea of the late Minister of Labour, Zeta Aimylianidou. He said that in 2017, the late Minister, through her consultations and the requests of various organisations to strengthen care services, recognised that in addition to the social care benefits already offered, there were needs of people with severe disabilities that needed to be addressed in a more meaningful way.
"I am very pleased to note that the project Employment and training of unemployed people to provide home care services to paraplegic and quadriplegic people, which started gradually in January 2018, co-funded by the European Social Fund, and is being developed and expanded, has been a great success with practical results," said Mr. He said that through the project being implemented, 144 Cypriot caregivers have been employed, after a personal interview and assessment. The caregivers, the Minister continued, were trained, without any financial burden, both on a theoretical and practical level, with the participation of trainers of the Organization, based on the specific needs of its members and in cooperation with the Human Resources Development Authority, which organized the training programmes. He stated that on completion of the training, carers are able to obtain the European Carer's Card, which is a recognised qualification in their field.
He also noted that carers are managed and allocated to members according to their needs. At the same time, he said that they are guided and supported, by the Organization itself, which is the reference point for both carers and caregivers. He added that important for the effective management of the project was the strengthening of the Organization with an organized team of project manager, social workers, nurses, clinical psychologist, office and administrative staff.
Mr. Kousios congratulated both the President of OPAK, Dimitris Lamprianidis, and the members of the Board of Directors, Toula Karatzia and Katerina Panagiotou, for their tireless efforts from the beginning of the project until today.
He added that the project has already set an example for other organisations and congratulated the Cyprus Myelopathy Association, which joined the project for the benefit of its own members. In order to serve this additional group of beneficiaries, caregivers are trained in specialized topics relevant to the needs of myopaths at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.
He underlined that the further expansion and enlargement of the project is ongoing, since it has been included in the Thaleia programme for continued co-financing in the new programming period 2021-2027.
The Minister also said that the future planning and challenge from 2023, from the Ministry of Social Welfare now, will be to create an integrated network of professional service providers, not only caregivers, but also personal assistants, counsellors and trainers, and with the utilization of all organizations of people with mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive, mental disabilities to act as professional service providers to people with disabilities.
For his part, the President of the Cyprus Paraplegics Organization, Dimitris Lambrianidis, said that the ability to take care of oneself is taken for granted by most people but unfortunately for a large number of our fellow human beings it is impossible and they depend on other people for basic things such as personal hygiene, getting dressed, eating, turning a page in a book or drinking a glass of water. Lamprianides added that the launch of the project "Employment and training of unemployed people to provide home care services to paraplegic and quadriplegic people" is considered a benchmark since through it "we offer our members trained staff, willing to perform the required tasks and act as an extension of the disabled person they support, with respect and dignity."
In addition, he said that the total budget of the project is 12,525,000 and so far 5,662,086 euros have been spent. Lamprianides noted that so far 144 caregivers have been trained and currently 78 caregivers and 8 support staff are employed. At the same time, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is celebrated on 3 December, Mr. Lamprianides asked the Minister for a strong commitment that this project will soon be further strengthened.
The President of the Cyprus Myopaths Association, Pambos Papadopoulos, welcomed the extension of the project's services to members of the myopaths' organisation. He noted that independent living in a suitable and quality environment is a top human right for persons with disabilities and should be a priority in the policies of developed countries as enshrined through the United Nations Convention on Persons with Disabilities.
The press conference was followed by a short film screening and an intervention by care service recipients and caregivers who shared their experiences of the benefits gained through the project.
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