I am happy to announce that I will be joining the Daulton's from a Father's Heart, Inc. on a joint project/mission to present a conference in Kiev on Intervention Strateties for Children with Down Syndrome! The conference will be held in Kiev, January 21 and 22, 2011 and will be intended to dispel myths about Down Syndrome and to educate and enlighten parents, orphanage workers, volunteers, and medical personnel on how to work with these children to help them develop to their fullest potential and to demonstrate that these children have value!! We want to instill hope in parents who want to keep their children and raise them at home. Currently less than 1% of parents in Ukraine who have a child with DS ever bring them home from the hospital, and our goal through God's help, is to change the number and change the way the Ukrainian culture views persons with disabilities, The Daulton's will be bringing their Anya to show what a child with DS from the Ukraine can accomplish. We will also be bringing therapy equipment donated for the orphans. I wll be presenting on Early Intervention techniques and consulting individually with families regarding their child's development. My focus will also extend beyond children with Down Syndrome and address any child with a developmental difference.
We are seeking prayer and financial support to cover our costs of travel, food, housing and interpreters. Additional funds are necessary to pay for the airline's fees for the equipment and supplies we are bringing
YOU CAN JOIN US ON THIS MISSION and help us achieve our goal even if you can't physically join us!
I am accepting donations of equipment and materials for the children and families. I discovered that so many of the children have never even seen themselves in a mirror and would love to put a child proof toy with a mirror in every crib! I need musical and action toys that DO NOT REQUIRE batteries and some action toys such as the laughing stuffed animal AND BATTERIES! I am also hoping that you will share your child's journey through photos, and videos! Put together a little video clip of your child doing all the wonderful things that they can do and send it to me! If you have pictures of your child in therapy or in the community such as Church, dance class, etc. please send me them so I can share them. Share YOUR child's story with me so I can share it with them! This is an easy way YOU CAN BECOME involved and make a difference! Here's an opportunity for you to show off your child doing what they do best!!!
I can talk til I'm green in the face (and anyone who knows me will vouch for that!) but your child will be able to say it better than I ever will! Please contact me directly through email (sanflan@ptd.net) or through Facebook for more information and an adddress to send your donations. Checks can be written out to Father's Heart which is a 501.3(c) charitable organization so your donation could be tax free. Please consider sending a donation and committing to pray for us on this trip!
How exciting!!! I am going to tell our translator from Odessa about it. She and her husband do a lot of work with orphans there and I know she wanted more training/info on how to better serve the children with DS or other disabilities (so did some of the staff at the older girls' institution).
ReplyDeleteThis is great! Reece's Rainbow and Connecting the Rainbow will be there as well, and CTR will be doing a World Down Syndrome Day conference in Bulgaria in March! Please though, stop calling them "Down syndrome children". I see you've corrected this in most places in your post, except for your very first sentence. As an educator, you know about people first language, to those who don't know, they are children. They happen to have Down syndrome, but it does not define who they are. "Down syndrome children" or "Downs babies" is not people first language. "Children with Down syndrome" is.
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