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VOCATIONAL & REMEDIAL TRAINING AT THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (NCPD) |
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Four Month Progress Report |
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Bernard Warner |
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Introduction This report is due for the four months of arrival in Trinidad on the progress made and new skills acquired in the departments of Sewing & Upholstery and Woodwork. |
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Sewing And Upholstery Department This is for the months of April and May. My first training started on the 8th April, 2002 and for the first wee4k, I learned about cutting and measurement. The second week I learned how to guide the cloth, using the sewing machine, to make straight stitches. I learnt that sewing corners was most important in this work. The training period lasted for six weeks, allowing me to have first hand training in upholstering chairs, covering crutches made by the center, using a staple gun powered by an air compressor, upholstering chair seats for dining rooms, offices using leatherette and other materials. |
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Woodwork Department In the month of June, I was transferred to the Woodwork department. The trainees were being prepared for the National Education Council Woodwork Examination at the end of June. I wanted to do the examination so I had to put in a lot of extra hours to make up the required amount of time in order to sit the exam which was held on June 27th 2002. In this department, I learned of construction using a number of different types of joints such as end lap, butt joint, mitre, mitre bridal, tongue and groove, housing joints and halving joining. After using and understanding these joints, I had to construct them for projects for the examination using both hand tools and machinery. For the examination, I constructed the following pieces:
My individual project for the examination was a hexagon mirror frame. The new skill I acquired was that of turning wood when operating the lathe. My training also consisted of making templates, designed layout of various shapes. I am now in the field of repairing and refurbishing furniture as well as building models from pictures found in books. I can reproduce the patterns and designs of the pictures to create identical projects on smaller and larger scales. |
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Activities On Sunday 14th April, we started from San Fernando on a one and a half hour ride into Port of Spain to attend a disability fun day. The day started with a wheelchair march. In a wheelchair, I wheeled up Queens Park Road followed by various disabled persons holding banners and slogans saying "I may not be perfect, but who is?" I entered in a wheelchair race around the King George V grounds. I also entered a shaky walker wheelchair race and placed first. It was held to raise funds to purchase a bus designed for persons with wheelchairs. On Monday 8th July, I participated in the Peer Support Seminar in Trinidad. It was held at the Cheshire Home and hosted by Disabled Persons International (DPI.) and featured the Canadian Paraplegic Association. The seminar was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. The feature speakers were Joanne Smith and Peter Alhanosopholus of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. They are both paralyzed. I was given a Peer Support Volunteer manual which is a guide on how to deal with your peers in the different areas of life. On Wednesday 17th July, I participated in the Seminar on Safety and Health in the Workplace, hosted by the International Institute for Healthcare and Human Development Limited. The seminar took place at NCPD. and was presented by Ms. Beverly Beckles and Mr. George De Peana. The seminar focused on questions of occupational safety and health in the workplace with special reference to the ILO Convention #55 concerning Occupational Safety and Health in the Workplace. It also dealt with hazards that could be encountered in the workplace such as chemical exposure, dust, fumes, vapours, infestation, viruses, psychological factors, stress and strain. We covered how people with disabilities can cope with safety regulations in the workplace. On Monday 22nd July, I attended a seminar on Job Preparedness hosted by NCPD for all the graduants. The facilitators were Ms. Oneata Forde and Ms. Beverly Beckles. We learned about self-improvement, how to handle a job interview, proper behaviour and dress code for the workplace, how to fill in an application form, write a resume and cover letter and how to respond to advertisements On Thursday 25th July, I attended NCPD. annual graduation ceremony where I received my certificate from the National Centre Of Persons With Disabilities for the Woodwork Department. The ceremony was good, we sang the song "I’ll Rise" by Yolanda Adams and my graduation photograph appeared in the Newsday Newspaper. On Friday 26th July, I attended the Graduation Dinner and Dance held at Mikane Hotel. We had dinner, knife and fork special, and the dance was right after. We had to dress formally. The dance was fun and I enjoyed myself associating and dancing to the music. We took pictures. On Saturday 27th July, I was invited to DPI monthly meeting at the Cheshire Home for Persons with Disabilities. There I was asked to give a brief rundown of the Antigua & Barbuda Association. I participated in a small seminar on effective communication by facilitator Ms. Williams. She is also a motivational speaker. She took us through the steps of effective communication as both a sender of the message and the receiver of the message. |
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Conclusion In conclusion, I have learned quite a lot and am willing to learn even more. I am very happy with the training received and the exposure I have gained because of the NCPD. I would like to continue my stay here and learn more so that I can teach others when I return home. I hope in the coming years I will be able to return the favour to the Association and be more active through the exposure I have received here. Prepared and written by Bernard Warner July 31st , 2002 |
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