NEWSLETTER
Zimbabwe
Downs
Children's AUTUMN 2000
Association
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W.O. 36/84 24A Malvern Road, Waterfalls, P O Box 5706 Harare Tel: 610464/610813, Cell: 011 722 387
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Dear Friends
I hope you all had a joyful Xmas and that 2000 brings success and prosperity.
Once again, a heartfelt THANK YOU to you all our generous and caring supporters. I know times are not easy at the moment, for everyone in business, but remember that your donations will help a child become independent, is tax deductible, and you do receive advertising in our newsletter.
The nativity play in December 1999 was very well attended and great fun. Mary, Joseph and the shepherds and angels gave an enthusiastic performance that could be heard blocks away!
Our children with Down syndrome continue to surprise us. They have an incredible gift for love and joy and they prove daily that they are capable of so much more than people think.
The following is an article about Anthony Terry of Eiffel Flats, written by his Dad.
"Anthony has just turned 14 and has already returned to school in South Africa. It always upsets me sending him so far away, but he seems to take school in his stride. He flies on his own, using the assistance of Comair staff, and seems to enjoy his flights. I have had endless problems with nearly all of the airlines, mostly because they seem to think that Down syndrome is catching! I have stuck to Comair because their staff are always so helpful. Anthony knows them and they know Anthony, so flights are now a pleasure, not the headache they used to be.
Anthony is a great collector of nearly everything he gets. When cleaning out his backpack at the end of last term, I found a packet of airline biscuits that must have been at least six months! Anthony loves plastic bags and gets endless hours of enjoyment from tying knots in them and throwing them about.
Anthony is not destined to be an academic as he has a very short attention span. His fine motor movement leaves much to be desired and his short-term memory is almost non-existent. However he makes up for the above by just being the contented happy little soul that he is. He is able to amuse himself for hours at a time. If given the opportunity he can be a lazy little tyke. Anthony adores sports and has won several medals and certificates in Special Olympics, all of which are proudly displayed at home in his bedroom.
Physically, Anthony has few problems, he is a skinny little chap who eats like a horse and very seldom puts on weight. He is small for his age, but is shooting up each year. He is completely independent as regards dressing himself, going to the toilet and feeding himself. His manners are good but sometimes he needs to be told to eat properly. He has had very few medical problems apart from the usual colds and flu which he gets every year. When he gets a runny nose, which is often he usually forgets to wipe, but will do so when told to. Anthony has to wear glasses, which he hates! He almost sits on top of the TV when he watches, and despite pulling him back, he still moves up close.
The Christmas for the first time ever, Anthony asked for a copy of the Titanic. As this is the only item Anthony has ever asked me for, he got the video. He has watched this four or five hundred times and still gets excited when the ship sinks!
Anthony loves to be read to and fancies himself as a bit of a singer. His songs words don't always go together but he likes to sing, so who am I to judge? Anthony loves theatre production as long as they have lots of song and dance. He always sings along and really enjoys himself.
Anthony likes to hear himself on audiotapes and I feel sure that this helps him with speech. For example he has problems saying his name. He normally comes out with "Anterry" but the tapes help him to hear where he is going wrong. Last year some friends filmed Anthony on videotape and he loves watching himself on TV. Anthony gets on well with his teachers and staff at the school, as he is not aggressive or short tempered. I was recently told by one teacher "Anthony is great, because if you send him on an errand, he always comes back!"
Anthony is a timid person at times, although now and again he suffers from verbal diarrhoea! If he takes a shine to a person he just can't stop talking. Anthony also has a good eye for ladies and will always select the best looking lady around - sometimes to the acute embarrassment of myself.
I have to confess to being rather proud when the school staff report to me that Anthony and his friends get up to no good. He gets the off clout from them when he gets out of hand but is proud to tell me about it.
His emotions are what I would call raw. I nearly always know what he's feeling. His attempts at lying are transparent. If anything has happened, his sister Shanna gets the blame, despite the fact that she may be in Harare at the time!
Anthony and Shanna have a wonderful relationship and both of them spend considerable time "winding each other up'. Anthony normally gets the better of Shanna. Despite the problems has with regard to learning he never ceases to amaze me with the new words and actions that he learns. His latest achievement is to tie his own shoelaces. Nothing great, but as far as Anthony is concerned, a little closer to being independent."
Wade Hillman, a 16 year old past pupil and his and sister are back in Zimbabwe for a holiday, so I went to see them. They live in Houston, Texas and Wade has a social worker assigned to him for life.
The American system for educating people with Down syndrome puts a lot of emphasis on practical life skills, and not as much on academic work. Wade has intensive speech therapy constantly, learns to ride the buses on his own and do his own banking and shopping. The emphasis on improving communication obviously helps him become more independent. He has also learned to operate every electronic gadget you can think of I'm told! Wade is taught to housekeep, and when he is old enough he will live in an apartment with other people with Down syndrome and work during the day. The incredible improvement in his speech in the space of a year is testimony to the powers of constant speech therapy. If only we could afford to have speech therapy on a regular basis within the school system.
Of course there are things we will probably never be able to do here, but this kind of story does give us the inspiration we need to keep trying to give our people with Down syndrome in Zimbabwe, as much independence as possible and a better quality of life.
A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE BEIT TRUST FOR GRANTING US THE MONEY TO BUILD A NEW CLASSROOM BLOCK!
Building of 4 new classrooms and ablution facilities is commencing at last!
And another big THANK YOU to Rob Hillman of Handi Print Services for print this newsletter free of charge on a regular basis.
"ALL THEY NEED IS A LOVING HOME"
This title is from an article written by Brigid Sullivan, New York, in the Daily Star, in which she describes her feelings on reading the New York Blue Book, which is a photo listing service of children available for adopting. The children are foster care, group homes, treatment centres or hospitals. "The State call these kids hard to place" says Brigid "but I call them hard to resist" This remarkable lady and her husband, Bill, have adopted five children with Down syndrome; they already have four older children.
At the European Down syndrome Conference in ICD in 1995, Brigid met a gentleman named Giergii Kilmi, from Albania. Because of the war in Bosnia two years later and the refugee problem she wanted to contact him to see if she could be of help to himself and his family. She contacted DSI Head Office to see if they could trace his address, which they did, and learned that Gergii and his family escaped from Albania and were residing in Spoleto, Italy, as refugees.
Brigid is trying to get the family into the USA and to get Gergii a job there. We wish her every success in this venture and hope that Gergii and his family will succeed in making a home in the US.
Brigid and her husband hope to visit Ireland again in 2000. In her kitchen she has a plague that reads: "If I owned heaven and Ireland, I'd rent out heaven and live in Ireland".
Brigid is certainly a lady with a very big heart!
Finally, we would like to invite you to visit the school any time, and to extend a very warm THANK YOU to the following special people …………
T S Dzangare Arundel School Trust
C C Sales Ltd Scanlen & Holderness
Andree Stevens Rickett & Colman
E M Gunn Mrs M C Chibesa
L M Ranchhod Mr D J Doig
Hindoo Wednesday Prayers Group Gill, Godlonton & Gerrans
Glynn's Bolts (Fees) Schweppes Zimbabwe
Manicaland Board Of Executors Cabs
Standard Chartered Bank Merchant Bank Of Central
Zimbabwe Agricultural Society P C Leandios
J Wild St Mary's Church Womens
Catercraft Stand Stationers
Stevens Catering Equipment Mr & Mrs Solanki
I H Redman Kirsty Dixon
A T Maguta P G Industries
L Millard Hanafin Trading
Deloitte And Touche Zim. Progress Fund
H J Schoultz J S Redmile
Duncans Family Butchery Katsede Enterprises
Haggie Rand Zimbabwe Mr G. Chikupo
Dairibord Zimbabwe Quality Tooling
Cheney Pelmets Cairns
Rathvale PLC Handiprint Services
Andree Stevens Fleurette
Saltrama Hunters Paradis
Johnson & Johnson Biggie Best
Joy Chipudhla Pink Butterfly Florist
Pensive Investments Healthy Habits
Mrs F Kamminga Patrick Mavros
Thomas Meikle Store Diplomatic Spouses Asso
Delta Corporation Savanna Wood
J Chikoto La Vita Doke
Mrs I Redman Medicine Chest
Millpall Punchbowl Products
Petra Farm Levin Family Foundation
Stanbic Bank Of Zimbabwe
Until next time, go carefully, look after yourselves, and THANK YOU for caring!
PAM MULLINS
EDITOR