Damascus-SANA
Today, the eleventh celebration of the Arab Day for Children with Disabilities kicked off on the stage of Al-Hamra Theater in Damascus, to crown the output of the “My Will…My Strength” project.
The central celebration annually held by the Directorate of Child Culture at the Ministry of Culture, which will last until the seventh of this month, included honoring the winners of the literary and artistic competitions for the year 2022.
In the field of story, he won the first prize for the first age group, Yasmine Kurdali, for the story “Do not allow anyone to approach you”, and the first prize for the second age group for the story “A Little Dream” by the young woman Sham al-Khader, and the second prize for the story “Memoir of a Soldier in the October War” by the young girl Jamila Al-Hassouni, and Ahmed Mahifoud won the third prize for the story “The Affectionate Swing”.
In the drawing competition, the second prize for the first age group went to Omar Al-Sayed Yahya, and the third to Yassin Tutonji, while the first prize was withheld, and for the second age group the second prize went to Tarek Irksousi, and the first prize for the third age group went to Mustafa Al-Yassin, and Lamis won Al-Shawi Encouragement Award.
As for the artistic prize for photography, the first and second prizes were withheld, while the third prize for the first age group went to Elias Dodoush. As for the second and third age groups, the second and third prizes went to Reham Maaniya and Nazir Hamdan, respectively. As for the encouragement prizes, they went to Murtada Eliasin, Bayan Othman, Ghada Al-Basha, and Al-Bara. Badria, Youssef Jamal Al-Din, Tala Al-Hanash, Maher Bitar and Omar Abu Hamdeh.
And with a theatrical and dance show produced by the work of children and young people, the “My Will.. My Strength” project, the children interacted in the celebration, with the participation of the “Miral” dance theater troupe, and they made the stage a platform to inform the community of their rights, so they were the real heroes of the show, and the show was titled “Letters X” It was conceived and directed by Mohamed Traboulsi and Reem Shalati. As for the text, it is the product of a playwriting workshop with children with disabilities to benefit from the winning texts in literary competitions dealing with this category.
In a press statement, the Minister of Culture, Dr. Labana Mashouh, indicated that there are several framework programs in the ministry, including the framework program (My disability is my strength), which is related to building children's thoughts and personality, strengthening their belonging and their ability to create, and through which a group of children with disabilities were given the opportunity to participate in a drawing competition. And photography, in addition to theatrical activity because of its importance in the life of the child, stressing the importance of partnership between institutions concerned with the affairs of children with disabilities and the family, to overcome their disability and integrate them into society.
The Director of Child Culture at the Ministry of Culture, Malak Yassin, stated that the celebration came with the aim of conveying a message of love and proving their ability to overcome the disability that did not prevent them from achieving their aspirations, and expressing their capabilities and capabilities, explaining the importance of workshops that would integrate these children with their peers, and the keenness of the Ministry Culture to follow them, publish their work and display their artistic productions.
The director of the “Miral” troupe and the director of the work, Muhammad Traboulsi, considered that working with this group of children is very special and enjoyable, indicating that the show is based on real stories of the participating children, translated into a theatrical text that embodies their hopes and their own world.
Sign language expert in Syria and the Arab world, Hilda Tanta, pointed out that her experience with deaf children began about 25 years ago, in addition to her work as a trainer for school and theatrical activities, indicating that there were minor difficulties at the beginning such as communicating with them, and teaching them some movements, but they proved their worth by overcoming all difficulties. While the young woman, Rola Tahmaz, said about her experience with children with disabilities: “These children take us to another world full of fun, interest and positive energy.”
The 15-year-old, Sham Al-Khidr, expressed her happiness at being honored, considering it an important opportunity to prove the ability to challenge and reach what she seeks to achieve. As for Sham’s mother, she referred to the talents that her daughter possesses, which enabled her to win first places since 2017, as she participates in literary competitions. which was established by the Ministry of Culture, which constituted a strong incentive for her to carry out her literary and artistic activities.
Iyada Issa, the mother of the child, Hadi Ali, drew attention to the suffering that deaf children are exposed to from bullying around them, as a result of ignorance in dealing with them in sign language, noting the importance of these theatrical participations to raise their morale.
It is noteworthy that the parallel festivities will start tomorrow for two days in the governorates, and include singing and dancing, theatrical paintings, folk arts, shadow theater performances, drawing and origami workshops, and art exhibitions, in addition to honoring the winners of artistic and literary competitions.
Amani Farooj and Hadi Omran
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