St Mary will soon get its first fully equipped learning centre for persons with intellectual disabilities.

A partnership between Jamaica Association for Intellectual Disabilities (JAID) and the Digicel Foundation has led to the construction of a centre of excellence which teaches literacy and numeracy, as well as vocational skills to persons in Port Maria with intellectual disabilities, aged 6-20. The $27-million investment will also cover the training of teachers.

"The Digicel Foundation is a committed and dedicated partner," said Christine Rodriquez, executive, director of the JAID.

"What they have given us here today is more than money can buy."

The demand for a learning facility for the intellectually disabled has been high in St Mary, explained Rodriquez.

A branch of the JAID, which was first opened in St Mary in 1977, has had difficulty fulfilling this demand due to a lack of proper facilities.

The soon-to-be-completed Port Maria Learning Centre will have a permanent home that will cater to 36 students, and will consist of three classrooms, a multipurpose area, an administrative office and other amenities.

"We remain committed to enhancing the lives of, and providing opportunities for, members of the special-needs community in Jamaica," said Jean Lowrie-Chin, chairperson of the Digicel Foundation at the official ground-breaking, held at the Learning Centre's new location at Trinity Primary School.

Integrating the intellectually disabled students with their typically performing peers at Trinity Primary will prove positive on a number of levels, according to Dr Morais Guy, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing.

Digicel Foundation's Centres of Excellence programme has been implemented in six schools, strengthening the capacity of special-needs students in Jamaica through infrastructure improvement, the provision of equipment and material, and the training of teachers and caregivers.