THE Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues In Training, Education and Resources (Smarter) may expect to have a new building by April this year.
This was disclosed by the society's president, Malai Hj Abdullah Hj Malai Othman in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
He said that the new building located at Kg Jerudong has a price tag of $1.9 million.
According to Malai Hj Abdullah the new buildingwhich will also accommodate members of the Brunei Autism Centre for Adults (Baca), will provide more space for the members. The number of children registering with Smarter has been increasing rapidly, he said.
"We need to cater these children with better place and facilities as to improve their academic standard in order to meet the current requirements," he added.
He said the decision to have a bigger building to cater for the society's growing needs was made after receiving registration from children who were diagnosed with autism by the Child Development Centre (CDC).
"We could not reject the registration even though our space is getting limited now and we were trying our best to support the needs of these children," he said.
Malai Hj Abdullah added that it was their responsibility to assist these special children to be successful in the future.
He also pointed out that the involvement of parents is the most fundamental factor in building up their children's future.
He said that some shop lots at the new building will be rented out to various entreprises such as restaurants, furniture shops, car workshop, air-con service and others sat an affordable price.
The rents will be used to cover some of the annual payment of the loan used to purchase the building.
"All shops will be named after Smarter in order to strengthen the credibility of our society," he said.
He added that with full support from the parents and public, this project will succeed for the benefits of the children's future.
He also disclosed that Smarter will conduct various activities to raise its fund which include a charity concert, hill challenge and campaigns to name a few.
Malai Hj Abdullah said Smarter could not depend solely on donation when they could generate their own income if they work together as a team.
He said that with the income earned, they would have better options to generate more in order to improve the standard and capability of Smarter for their sake of its members.
One of the parents, Hj Khamis Hj Rashid told The Brunei Times that he was glad that his son is a member of Smarter as the society provides him with knowledge and skills. He that after being informed by the CDC that his son has autism at the age of two, he did not lose hope, instead he went on to figure out how to give the best for his son.
"Smarter has given us a lot of help and motivation for our son," said the 43-year-old father. He also hope that he could spend more quality time with his son.
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