The Government of the Azores signed today in Horta a partnership with the Association of Parents and Friends of Disabled Children of Faial (APADIF) for the opening of a Free Time Activity Centre with capacity for 40 children from 3 to 18 years. It will be fitted with the necessary conditions to accommodate children with disabilities.
 
"With an annual allocation amounting to 76 thousand Euros, this is the third partnership that we have signed for the implementation of a pilot experience. We have established similar partnerships with the Youth Christian on Terceira Island and "Casa do Povo" of Água de Pau on São Miguel Island for the establishment of services with the same characteristics," said the Regional Secretary for Social Solidarity. She spoke on the sidelines of the protocol signing ceremony.
 
Andreia Cardoso recognised that it is a "legitimate claim for the parents and children who do not fit into the traditional audiences of Free Time Activity Centres."
 
"We advocate an inclusive education system, we are working towards the success of our children and young people and we have taken this commitment from the very first day of work," the government official said, assuring that "the determination of the Government takes shape in days like today and in actions like this one."
 
The installation of this new social response was also made possible through the collaboration of Nossa Senhora das Angústias Social and Parish Centre, which transferred the building where the service will be installed.