Learning about Disabilities

The second edition of the "Festival of Abilities" for children and young people with neurofunctional diversity took place in the municipality of Câmpia Turzii from 15 October to 3 December 2022. The motto of this festival was: "Together through art for social inclusion." Throughout this period, the organizers of the festival, namely, the Social Welfare Department Day Centre "Carine", the Association Pro Assisto (Câmpia Turzii), and the Association "Ianna-Floare-Aleasă, Centre for Special Education, provided the participants with various workshops for children with disabilities (helped by educational units from Turda and Câmpia Turzii), organized round table meetings and a festive show. Video presentations, puppet theatre, children's choir, piano music, autumn fair, and of course personal experiences made this one of the most enjoyable and productive periods, with children competing in activities. Praise the Lord for these ministry opportunities!
Although December 3 2022 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, however, since October and November of this year, some of the schools in the municipalities of Turda and Câmpia Turzii have benefited from two special workshops. One in October, on the occasion of "International Spine Day", for the prevention of spinal diseases, where children learned about the importance of correct posture, and the other in November about bullying in schools.
"Today, November 2, 2022, we kicked off the awareness/awareness project on bullying in schools in the city. A lot of prayer is needed", says Simona Anca, director of the Ianna-Floare-Aleasha Association.
During the "Education in Values" workshop, children learned through experiential activities how to relate to their peers who are disabled, helping them to understand that each of them is unique and special and to respect the diversity among their peers. Hands-on activities, such as "Blind Hen" (experiencing the sensation of not seeing), "Three-legged race" (highlighting the importance of helping a peer with such a disability), activities such as "Let's make a mouth/leg/blink drawing", taught children to empathize with those in such situations. The discussions generated at the end of these, led to the reinforcement of respect for diversity, the discovery of more solutions to help in situations of difficulty, and moments of reflection to raise awareness/awareness through questions such as "how did you feel after such an experience, what did you find most difficult in this activity, how did your peers find it, how would you like to do the same every day, what do you think about people who face such situations every day, how could you help them at school, what would you tell them/write them a message.
The meeting was very much enjoyed by the little ones, so a session of presentations for the children on mental health will follow. We thank God for these ministry opportunities!
As reported by Simona Anca, Director of the Women's Ministries Department, Northern Transylvania Conference, Romania