On a cloudy Friday afternoon, at the office of Rwanda Down Syndrome Organization (RDSO), young adults with Down Syndrome (aged between 14 to 25) accompanied by their parents or guardians participated in a workshop aimed to teach them preventive measures of COVID-19.
The debut of the workshop was marked by a pleasant atmosphere with the young adults listening and dancing to entertaining music by DJ Moses. You could observe that despite the coordination difficulties that are usually experienced by most people with down syndrome, the young adults were eager to dance together as they were cheered by the music; they were enticed to teach each other moves in both modern and traditional dance.
Once the young adults and their guardians had become acquainted with each other, Edwige Musabe, the vice-chairperson of RDSO welcomed them and briefly explained the mission of RDSO and its four main objectives which are advocacy, education, awareness, and capacity building for people with Down Syndrome. Mrs. Edwige proceeded with a comprehensive overview on how COVID-19 is affecting communities around the world and how it threatens the lives of people with Down Syndrome as well, especially, those with underlying conditions (respiratory diseases, heart diseases, sleep apnea, diabetes, immunodeficiency) as they are in the high risk of COVID-19.
RDSO had the pleasure to also host Chadrack Bizirema, who is in charge of people with disabilities in Kicukiro District. In his speech during the workshop, he emphasized on the collaboration between DPOs (Disability People Organizations) such as RDSO and the districts of Rwanda in ensuring the well-being of individuals with disabilities. Mr. Chadrack encouraged parents and guardians of the present young adults with Down Syndrome to keep taking care of the young adults, to allow them to reach their full potential.
Afterward, the young adults and their guardians shared refreshments and they were each offered a package containing a pocket hand sanitizer and face masks. As they took pictures and received final remarks of the workshop, they were reminded of COVID-19 safety protocols on how to effectively wear a face mask, wash their hands, leave 1-meter distance between each other, and greet each other by their elbows.
https://www.ds-int.org/Event/international-day-of-education-2021
Written by: Pascaline Mugiraneza Munezero, volunteer at RDSO