The Centre Algarve is going to be Europe’s premier specialist holiday centre which solely caters for special needs and handicapped children. Here they will be able to share the wonderful experience of a fun and exciting overseas holiday with their family or carers in an environment where everyone feels safe and secure. The whole emphasis of this centre is to make the child feel happy and content during their stay and offer many of the features which they are used to in their daily routines but with added fun and sunshine.
The centre will only have 14 bedrooms to keep the experience more intimate and not too overpowering like a large complex may do. Parents and carers will benefit from relaxing with each other during the day and at meal times whilst their child enjoys themselves with other children of similar needs without having to worry about their child’s behaviour maybe upsetting other guests
All our rooms will have an emergency alarm which will call an assistant should you experience a problem and you are in a situation where you do not want to leave your child unattended whilst you get help. They will also have air conditioning, satellite TV and internet connection should you wish to just relax for a few hours.
The grounds and facilities are all being designed with special needs and disabled in mind. There will be an outside play area, inside soft playroom, swimming pool and splash area to cool off, a sensory room and tranquil areas to relax and chill out. A picnic area where children can make camp and enjoy the Algarve’s sunshine and clean air. A large indoor room which can be used for education and learning purposes, painting, mosaics and many other fun and game experiences. A safe kitchen where the children can cook and make juice or shakes from the many fruit trees on site. A small zoo where children can discover more about the animals interact and assist with feeding and this is only the start we are sure new ideas will come to mind and be added.
All this was the brainchild of Mr Andy Mahoney back in 2009. Andy realised a centre like this was so crucial for special needs and handicapped children and that there was no other holiday facility that allowed the parents to also stay on site to enjoy and create some wonderful family holiday memories and life experiences that we all would normally take for granted.
Whilst Andy had some funds to put towards this idea he knew he would need some help and decided to form the ”24×7 Special Needs Holiday Trust” hoping that other organisations or businesses would come on board to assist financially and make this idea a reality. The property was found and it soon became apparent that there was more work than originally thought to create such a wonderful place. The main cost of this project was going to be labour, lots of workers were needed to be found to help create the garden areas, carpenters to build the animal enclosure and skilled workers to do the vast amount or remodelling wiring and plumbing. A plea went out in 2010 for volunteers through various websites and wow… what a response. There have been in excess of 250 volunteers from ALL over the world up to now. Some have helped for a day; some stayed at the centre for a week and some who have stayed for month’s even years. Without each and everyone one of these great people the centre would have never got off the ground.
This centre is going to give so many families; special needs school groups and organisations the opportunity to maybe take their first ever overseas trip confidently knowing that the Centre Algarve was SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR THEM.
