New home for day care centre

THE parents of 19 children who were evicted from a Nicosia district Day Care Centre last year are relieved the Social Welfare Service has finally rented new premises closer to home.

The new premises are located in Lakatamia, only a five-minute drive from the old Anthoupoli building.

“We’ve had four very difficult months but it’s been worth the wait,” said Parents Association president Lisa Karatzia.

Thirty children attending Anthoupoli’s state-run day care centre were evicted in September last year after the building was deemed unsafe. Until the Social Welfare Service found new housing for the youngsters, they were placed in day care in Strovolos.

Two mini buses were used to shuttle the children to and from the school.

“From 30 children we went down to 19 because some parents put them in other [private] nurseries because they didn’t like their children going backwards and forwards on the buses every day,” she said.

Karatzia was optimistic the numbers would go back up to 30 by the end of next month.

“We have staff for 30 children and should have that many really soon because we already have a waiting list,” she said.

Three social workers and two assistants are responsible for the running of the new day care centre.

Karatzia said the building had been a former private nursery school and was in “tip-top condition” with all the necessary amenities.

“On Monday the children arrived and just laid out all their toys and they felt right at home,” she said.

“We are all very happy. We are also very happy with the Labour Ministry, the Social Welfare Services and the Labour Minister Sotiroulla Charalambous for having a hand in speeding up the procedure to check the worthiness of the building and getting the budget to rent the place approved,” she added.

As for the old Anthoupoli building, it was still undergoing tests to determine whether to repair or demolish it.

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