A Design of a Modern Days Care Centre for Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwna Afikpo
ABSTRACT
A modern day care facility in Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechic Unwana, Afikpo Ebonyi state will no doubt be a welcome and appreciated project. Since children whose parents are civil servant, and who often do not have time to take care of their children who are not up to school age can be kept there during those period their parent will be engage with their civic duties. It is more important to know that day care centres often for infant who are not up to school age and considering how fragile there are, the spaces and equipments used in accommodating, and entertaining them should be more considerate. From where this centre is located and the analysis done it will in no doubt bring succor to Polyunwana community.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
A day care of a child is the care of that child during the day by a person other than the child’s legal guardians. Man’s quest for a better living and future has been an age long tradition that has been past from generation to generations, age to age, gender to gender and race to race with lesser limitations. In regards to all these wants, provision of food, clothes, and shelter is not limited to the father who is the breadwinner and head of the family, rather these responsibilities is now being shared in the family. As a result of this division of labour, it is not uncommon to see young mothers working in both private and public sectors just to meet up with the demands of life. These tense to affect the duty of mother who just gave birth, or who is still nursing. In other to create a balance between these two aspects of life (working and raising up a family), the ideas of day care centres were initiated by well trained care givers all over the globe.
In our immediate environment Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic, it is estimated that over 2000 staffs works in the polytechnic; (Okoche Chukwuma Ekuma, (2015) and at about one third of these population. are women with an average of 2 in every 4 are young mothers and one in every 5 is a nursing mother whose young and still growing child needs motherly care and presence often. But in a bid for the institution to maintain it ethics, these mothers are only granted six (6) months maternity leave in other to take care of her growing child, living the remaining stage of child’s growing up to the care of other relatives, untrained nannies, and in some cases to an unequipped, unorganized, unregistered day care centres.
This project is meant on providing a well equipped modern day care centre, built with modern facilities in Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytchnic, Unwana. Afikpo Ebonyi Sate attention and care to young infants and children of the staffs of the polytechnic and other parents within Unwana and Afikpo as a whole. Because there is need to hade a well equipped Day Care Centre in the institution.
1.1 SCOPE OF STUDY
The scope of study of this project is meant on designing a day care centre equipped with modern facilities which will serve the need of people within Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana, and other neighbouring communities including Afikpo town. The centre is design to Accommodate 30 infants. It will contain the following spaces: play room, staff room/offices, class from children rest, sick bay, conveniences, Equipment store etc. considering the categories of persons the structure will accommodate. It is not going to be a double volume structure.
1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims and objectives of this project are as following:
- To provide a standard and well equipped day care centre for the polytechnic.
- To provide a comfortable and suitable environment for infants within the ages of 0-2 years of age even in the absent of their legal guardians.
- To reduce the risk of mothers leaving their little babies to the care of an untrained nanny or to the care of an heartless relatives.
- To provide a close link between the mothers who are mostly staff of the polytechnic and their babies even while working.
- To improve the standard of learning for infant within the ages of 0–2 years.
- To identify the challenges and setbacks that comes as a result of establishing a day care centre.
1.3 STATMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROBLEM
It is often common to see a fusion of what is call a day care or better still a crèche in most of our Nursery and primary schools. As a result of this, there are series of problems encountered. The same problems were encountered in the places visited for the case study. There includes:
- Inadequate spaces or no spaces
- Little size space
- No proper ventilation
- No security
- Poorly design structure
- Lack of landscaping
- Poorly oriented structure etc.
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- MOTIVATION
After a close study of the polytechnic and Afikpo in general, I was moved to do some thing meaningful that will provide succor to young nursing mothers. And as a result of this, I was motivated by the following factors;
- Improve the welfare of infants within the ages 0 – 2 years even when their parent are in their various working place
- Distinguish between a day care centre and a nursery or primary school.
- To create a close link between the mothers and their young babies while in their duty post after their mandatory six months maternity leave.
- To reduce the risk of keeping this little ones at a place with little or no security.
I was also motivated to embarked on this project after research shows that, mothers who are still nursing often report to their duty post late, because there wait for the nannies employed to take care of the babies while there are off to work.
Secondly, there often arrive lately to pick their wards from the schools there enrolled them into Afikpo metropolis. And such occurrence tense to post a trait to the lives and well being of the infants at that point in time.
1.5 RESEARCH CONSTRAINTS/LIMITATIONS
On the process of carrying out this project research, I encountered series of challenges. Amongst which are;
- FINANCIAL LIMITATION: Due to lack of finances we could not visit standard day care centres around the eastern zone and other part of the country.
- LIMITED TIME FRAME: there was no time to carry out this research and this really affected us.
- NOT GRANTED ACCESS: Because of the security challenges the country is facing, most places visited could not grant us access to carry out our case study.
- COULD NOT FIND A DAY CARE: It was difficult to find a day care centre. As it is mostly integrated into schools, and as a result of this, there often don’t meet the requirement of a day centre.
- The places we visited denied us access into their premises and thus we could not get hold of their plans. The other place we visited in Enugu state is an ancient Brazilian style structure whose plan I believe is no longer in existence.
1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The method of research carried out for this project is the same as all architectural project research. where letters of introduction where given to all the student from the head of department office.
We were not given questionnaires. But all question ask were verbally.
Question such as these were asked after the formal introductions and exchange of pleasantries.
- What is a day care centre
- What is the difference between a day care and a kindergarten or a nursery and primary school
- What are the spaces and equipment usually found in a day care
1.7 IMPORTANCE OF CASE STUDY
The importance of case studies in Architectural projects are not some thing that should be underestimated by the people involves. During the case study, we learnt a lot from questions asked. In other to expatiate on this, I will say the importance of case studies is as follows;
- We were able to understanding the magnitude of what we are designing.
- And that the case study availed us the opportunity to know the different spaces in what we are expected to design.
- From the case study, we were able to identify the challenges face by the places we visited and effecting necessary corrections on your designs
- Understanding a place like Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic should have a day care centre were wards of both her staffs and other parents who are still under the ages of 0 – 2 years should be accommodated, taken care of while their legal guardians are at their respective duty post on business places.
- Know the advantages and disadvantages that comes from a design (good or bad).
- FINANCING
As the client of this project, the management of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic unwana, Afikpo Ebonyi will take soul responsibilities for the finance of this project from the first stage up to the final stage. This could be done with the Rector acting as her representative.
