Victory Bible Church International (VBCI), has opened a Special Needs facility to cater for children with disability in the Church.
The ultramodern facility will provide the needed environment for children with conditions such as cerebral palsy or autism who have difficulty interacting with other children during service.
To ensure the safety and welfare of the children are guaranteed, the Church has also trained volunteers on how to handle the children while staffs of the Church’s onsite clinic which operates during Church services are also on standby for any needed special care.
Commissioning the facility, Elder Reginald Sackey-Addo, the Executive Pastor in-charge of administration at VBCI, said it was the vision of the Church to ensure that every child has a place in the “House of God.”
He said the Church also wanted to address the social and cultural beliefs or stigma that forced parents of such children to hide or abandon them.
“We believe if we provide the needed support for these children and assure their caregivers that they can be trained, they will be willing to access such assistance because many of these children are gifted but need special training,” he said.
Reverend Wilberforce Asare, Minister in Charge of VictoryLand (VBCI Children’s Ministry, Nationwide), said the Special Needs facility would ease parents of the burden of leaving their children with special needs in the care of another person whilst they come to church alone.
He said it was fully funded by the Church, however, some church members supported the project with cash donations and items.
Rev Asare said parents can now bring these children to Church and leave them in the care of professionally trained volunteers to cater for them.
“Effective today, parents are warmly welcome to bring in their children with disability every Sunday. Our trained volunteers will carefully handle them so the parents can also enjoy the Church service,” he said.
The Special Needs facility has a sensory room and resources that will calm the children due to the choice of colours and types of toys. It has a comfortable environment for them to feel safe and adored while learning God’s Word and provides inclusion and access to equal opportunities for learning and training.