SIX HUNDRED Limassol children, including 100 whose families survive on welfare benefits, will not this year be allowed to enjoy a week’s holiday at a long established mountain region summer camp, after the Education Ministry put a stop to the distribution of organisers’ application forms at all local public primary schools.
Limassol Children’s Holidays Association was founded in 1935 by the late Christodoulos Hadjipavlou. For 67 summers, the Platres camp became a summer refuge for hundreds of Limassol children, including the poor and those with special needs. In 2003, the camp took out a loan to support its running and to ensure all poor and special needs children were housed for free. The remaining children were asked to pay a £25 for a week’s holiday at the camp.
“At that time, our association’s application forms were distributed to children in grades four, five and six by their school heads. The children then took the money into the schools and we’d collect it,” Nicos Rossos, the association’s president said.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference yesterday, Rossos said it was with much disappointment that they had heard the Education Ministry had blocked the distribution of their pamphlets.
Despite the bar, 59 children had already applied to go to the popular camp for one of the 10 weeks it was running.
“But we cannot employ two cooks, a housekeeper and four tutors from abroad, with whom we’ve signed contracts, for only that number of children and for only a week. We also employee 10 teachers and 40 team leaders,” Rossos said.
The 80-year-old, who has devoted more than half his lifetime to the running and upkeep of the camp, was bitterly disappointed that so many children would not be allowed to enjoy their summer holidays at the camp.
“The Head of Primary Education informed us that the ‘advertising or sale of products or offer of services’ was forbidden. He also made reference to the prohibition of persons who do not promote school works.”
Rossos was quick to point out that the association was made up of 70 volunteers and not door-to-door salesmen.
“Second, the programme we operate not only promotes the work of schools but also helps make better people.”
This year’s camp programme would have included concerts, educational excursions, talks on healthy eating, avoiding drug addiction, alcoholism and gambling, basketball and handball games, religious instruction and puppet theatres.
“We also have a large indoor games room, a library and a large television for educational programmes,” he said.
The camp would have been free for children whose families receive welfare benefits and cost £30 for all other children.
But ministry sources explained that because of an unspecified incident two years ago at another camp it had put a stop to promoting camps in schools. Although at the time of the incident, Rossos’ camp had been closed (in 2004 and 2005 the camp remained closed after failing to secure a bank loan to house the poor and special needs children for free), the ministry said it had to implement its ban across the board.
Officials said schools could only promote camps if they were under the umbrella of the ministry, making it responsible for anything that happened to any of the children.
But Rossos said it was unfair to tar all camps with the same brush just because another camp had done something wrong. He said he had repeatedly requested a meeting with the minister and permanent secretary. Each time, he was either ignored or fobbed off with a copy of the Primary Education head’s letter, or told to contact the Ombudswoman.
He also questioned why parents’ associations were able to distribute pamphlets at schools and yet his association was barred from doing so.
Failing at every turn to get someone to listen, Rossos said he had taken up the ministry’s attitude with the Ombudswoman.
He said: “Of course there must be criteria for associations that can inform and take in children, but monopolies and exclusions ended when we joined the European Union. It’s time certain officials realised that. Especially the Head of Primary Education who unfortunately misinterpreted his authorities and has deprived poor, disabled and a significant number of children from the country.”
He added: “Beyond our disappointment that we cannot house 600 children this year, imagine the deep disappointment of the children themselves, who will have to learn they cannot come to the camp this summer, especially the 59 children who applied and are already so looking forward to their week away.”
