It is a pleasure to be present at the Cyprus Paraplegics Organization's Headquarters for this press conference, here at the Organization's Headquarters, from where a most important and pioneering project is run, which has contributed to the development of our state's services for people with severe disabilities.
It is with emotion that I underline that the idea of implementing the project and encouraging the Organization to undertake it belonged to my predecessor, the late Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance, Zeta Emilianidou, whose memory we honour once again today.
Independent living, i.e. the ability of every citizen with a disability to live at home, with safety, dignity, comfort, with maximum autonomy and with the help of the support services he or she needs, is a fundamental right. And home care services for people with severe mobility disabilities are of major importance for their independent living, as they support people in their daily care and activities, ensuring their rights to independent living, quality of life and participation in society.
In 2017, therefore, the late Zeta Emilianidou, through her consultations and the requests of various organizations to strengthen care services, recognized that in addition to the social care benefits already offered, There was a need for services to be provided by the organisations themselves to their members. They, after all, know better than anyone else the needs of their members. At the same time, available European funds had to be used to recruit unemployed people and train them as carers. Zeta Aimylianidou found the Cyprus Paraplegics Organisation as a pioneer partner in this idea and decided to run a pilot project initially, with the prospect of extending it to other organisations.
It is with great satisfaction that I note that the project "EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE TO PROVIDE IN-PERSON CARE SERVICES TO PARAPLEGIC AND TETRAPLEGIC PEOPLE", which started gradually in January 2018, co-funded by the European Social Fund, and is constantly developing and expanding, has been a great success with practical results:
- 144 Cypriot caregivers were hired, after a personal interview and assessment. A great value added to the quality of care was the unhindered communication between provider and recipient of the service due to the language.
- The caregivers 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. On completion of the training, Carers can obtain the European Carer's Card, which is a recognised qualification in their field.
- Carers are managed and allocated to members according to their needs. At the same time, they are guided and supported by the organisation itself, which is the reference point for both carers and carers. 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, clerical and administrative staff.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I must congratulate both the President of OPAK Mr. Dimitris Lamprianidis and the members of the Board of Directors Ms. Toula Karatzia and Ms. Katerina Panagiotou for their tireless efforts from the beginning of the project until today, as well as their sacrifices in both time and effort.
I also congratulate the staff involved in this project and every caregiver, who as a large team work together effectively and successfully.
The project has already set an example for other organisations and I congratulate the Cyprus Myelopathy Association, which joined the project for the benefit of its own members. To serve this additional group of beneficiaries, the caregivers are trained in specialized topics relevant to the needs of myopaths at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics.
The further expansion and enlargement of the project is ongoing, as it has been included in the Thaleia programme for continued co-financing in the new programming period 2021-2027.
The future planning and challenge from 2023, from the Ministry of Social Welfare now, which will comprehensively take on the issues of people with disabilities, along with social policies for all vulnerable groups of the population, will be to create an integrated network of professional service providers, not only carers, but also personal assistants, counsellors and trainers, and utilising all the organisations of people with mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive and mental disabilities, in order to act as professional service providers for people with disabilities.
Friends,
We as a State must ensure and protect the right of our fellow human beings with disabilities to enjoy, according to their individual needs, the appropriate support services for their independent living. We owe them quality of life. This is what we have been doing since the first day of President Nicos Anastasiades' administration and this is what we will continue to do, within the framework of the President's vision of a Social Welfare State.
(NΓ/ΣΧ)
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