Where I live right now people with disabilities are seen as not being able to contribute anything to society. Kids with special needs are not allowed in public schools because of this belief that they cannot add anything of value to their country. There are some schools that are for special needs children but they are rare.
Fortunately, there are some parents who bypass these views and keep their child that has a disability, and a handful of foster parents who foster children with various special needs such as cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome. Taking on this task can be very difficult as parents may feel isolated and alone, and struggle for support in taking care of their children.
One of the greatest events that I got to partake in this month was for the foster families. There isn’t a name for it yet, but we are working on one and planning to make this a monthly thing to show support for the foster parents and kids. A good handful of our team worked alongside a clinic to help organize an afternoon of discussion with the parents and fun art projects for the kids. Both groups seemed to be beneficial to the foster families.
I was able to help out in the kids' group. We had painting supplies and play dough ready to go for the kids to enjoy with the intent to show that kids with disabilities can add beauty to the world. It was fun getting to see the kids paint and goof off with the playdough. Our plan for the paintings that they created was to take them and make them into cards. Though most of them took their paintings home we were able to make a handful out of the many paintings that one of the foster boys created. We also had a little play area for the toddler and baby. The nice thing was that we had a good handful of volunteers so we had enough for each kid to get the attention they needed plus some extra love. It was especially nice to see students from the universities being a part of this event and experience first-hand what it is like to serve others.
I wasn’t present in the parent discussion, but I heard great things about it. One of the most exciting news was that one of the foster parents wanted to see what they could do to help support other parents with biological children with disabilities. These foster parents who getting support from this organization now want to extend support to other parents! That is incredible to hear. It is a good example of having a right heart. When you receive something good, wanting then, to go and share and spread the good.