Unusual Celebration in Niemenczyn

The Centre of Day Stay for Disabled People in Niemeczyn has grown thanks to a new building. Now, the wards of the centre have a modern room at their disposal, adjusted to the needs of those who require a special care. By the expansion, which made the institution almost twice that big as it was before, there were many facilities added, such as ramps and lifts for wheelchairs users.

The Centre of Day Stay for Disabled People was opened in 2004 and since then it has been unusually active. At the beginning, only a few people visited the centre, and gradually, more of them. Today, almost 50 wards make use of the institution, including 30 of those who stay there on a regular basis. They are Poles, Lithuanians, Russians, all of whom are served in their own language. The wards take part in various creative and educational activities, the music and drama ones are the most popular, which could see all people who saw the new building’s opening.

Even after first years of its activity, the centre turned out to be too small and unable to accommodate all the people interested. Although only the citizens of the Vilnius County were admitted to make use of the institution (some people even want to commute as far from Vilnius), there arose a problem with the size of the space available, where all members of the family of the disabled and not disabled people. Three years ago, the mayor of the Vilnius County, Maria Rekść, during the Christmas meeting promised that the building will be finished. And she kept her word. It required only a million litai, and most of them was obtained from the UE funds.

As said by the director of the centre, Jadwiga Ingielewicz, the new multifunctional room will surely renew the life of the wards, who have been forced to rent additional facilities so far, which were usually completely unsuitable for their needs. In the new building, they will do sports and rehabilitation. In the teeth of circumstances, the people connected with the centre are very active and sociable They travel often and meet with the wards of similar centres, but so far they have not been able to receive their own guests.

It was the reason why so many emotions there were during the Christmas meeting, and nobody minded that the friends of the centre, who arrived in Niemeczyn: politicians, builders, priests, representatives of the affiliated educational institutions, and volunteers that every day engage in helping the needful people. The wards of the centre had prepared a Nativity play for the guests. For a few years, they have have performing “away”, now they could present themselves on their own stage, comfortable and with many seats for the audience, which still smelled with paint – present to all those who would like to visit to share with them the happiness of life, and at the same time learn, adore and applaud.

Source: http://www.wilnoteka.lt/pl/artykul/niezwykle-swieto-w-niemenczynie#comment-23403

Tłumaczenie Emil Iracki w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Emil Iracki the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.