CHRONOLOGICAL TIME SCALE OF EVENTS LEADING TO REALISATION OF L.A.P.W.D.

continued....

MAY 1997 - SEPTEMBER 1997

30th JUNE 1997

A meeting of the Committee and a number of members of the Association was held to review the Launch experience and to plan for the future development of the group. Decisions were made regarding the frequency of group meetings from this date on and a tentative date was made for the first A.G.M. of the new company. Training and development proposals were discussed and the secretary was delegated to pursue the matter with relevant authorities. An application to the County Leitrim Partnership for funding for a training and development course was proposed.

3rd September 1997

A group of twenty three participants commenced an Extra Mural Certificate Course entitled An Introduction to Community Development in relation to Disability. The participants included all the Officers of the Association as well as twelve other people with disabilities, four carers and a number of PA's and volunteer workers. Through this course it is hoped to raise awareness around disability issues and develop the confidence and self-reliance of the participants and provide them with a range of knowledge and skills which will enable them to:

• work effectively as a team for the enhancement ot the disability movement in Leitrim;
• communicate effectively with local groups as well as public and private agencies.
• assist the group to establish strong organisational structures and to manage efficient projects based on good management principles.

 

It also aims to enable the participants to understand the concept of disability and the disabling society while empowering them to play their part in their own development.

I trust that the record of following training initiatives: Personal Development courses, Assertiveness, Facilitation, Creative Writing, Painting, Public Speaking etc, Excursions, Advocacy meeting and so on over the years since 1997 have been documented and filed in the office, leading up to and since Millennium Celebration (Comhar 2000).

Leitrim people with disabilities claim their own power - L.A.P.W.D. has a very strong, vibrant life of its own. It is consumers, i.e. people with disabilities and families, who set the agenda - "the customer is always right"!

MAY THE VISION LIVE ON