A new toy library has been opened at Pasir Ris Elias Community Club for the special needs children in the North East district of Singapore.
The library has been jointly set up by the North East Community Development Council (CDC) and Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore (CPAS) with a motive to break down the barrier between the mainstream schools and special needs children.
The playroom is open to all children and it will be operating every day from 10 am to 9 pm.
More than 50 toys, including remote control cars, are available at the toy library. The library has also kept the educational value in terms of the toys to develop their motor skills and express their creativity.
Within the next couple of months, the playroom will include toys which are specially designed for the special needs children with modified larger switches or buttons. This will be useful for those children whose motor skills are less developed.
The Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore has also planned to organize different types of activities regularly at the library, such as storytelling and music sessions.
CPAS executive director and North East CDC's district councilor, Jessie Holmberg told AFP: "Such initiatives in a community space are a good platform to bridge understanding between parents, children and children with special needs. Children will learn to care for each other beyond their own needs when they see their peers needing help."
Teo Ser Luck, the Mayor of North East District said that this library is the fourth toy library in the district. But he also said that this is the first to cater to special needs children and he is hoping to have 20 toy libraries in the district by the end of this year.
