Charity Lifelites has teamed up with the island’s Freemasons to donate equipment and support worth £50,000 to Rebecca House hospice.
The specialist technology can give the children supported by the Braddan facility the opportunity to play, be creative and communicate for themselves.
Lifelites has been donating equipment and services to children’s hospices in the British Isles for the past 21 years.
This latest package of inclusive and assistive technology includes an Xbox with an adaptive controller, a virtual reality set and a tilt table, which is a large touch screen that can be moved up and down and tilted. The charity’s donation also includes training and technical support for hospice staff.
Chief executive of Lifelites Simone Enefer-Doy said: ’Following a difficult year, Lifelites is delighted to be able to donate a package of magical technology for the children and young people using the services of Rebecca House.
’The equipment is often specially adapted and accessible for use by anyone, irrespective of any physical restrictions they may have.
’We know that every second counts for these children and their families, so all the technology is portable which means it can reach every child, even if they can’t get out of bed, as well as in the children’s own homes.’
Vicky Wilson, head of children and young people services at Rebecca House, added: ’We want to say a huge thank you to Lifelites for donating this amazing technology and to the Freemasons for making this possible.
’Having access to the kind of equipment Lifelites donates is a huge benefit to the children we care for, but also for our staff, as it gives them a chance to develop a better understanding of how they can support these children.’
Freemanson’s provincial grand master Martin Blackburn said: ’We are delighted to be working with Lifelites once again to bring this much-needed technology to the island.
’We know that this will give these children and their families wonderful new experiences that they may never have thought possible.’