Let the light shine

JEAN ANTOINE-DUNNE

IT WAS A week of high notes. On Sunday, in Trinidad, Archbishop Jason Gordon tells men to be real fathers as he celebrates the Feast of St Joseph. His sermon pinpoints the gift of fatherhood.

On Monday the newly inaugurated President, Paula-Mae Weekes, tells us all to shine the light into the darkness that is Trinidad and Tobago. Tuesday is full of elation and praise.

On Wednesday there is a landslide show of solidarity for people with Down syndrome all over the world.

Greetings flash by on Facebook as an extraordinary number of people celebrate and wish each other Happy World Down Syndrome Day.

We have finally made it. This new recognition may be due in part to the fact that there are currently so many international debates surrounding antenatal screening for DS and speculation that there may soon be very few people born with Down syndrome. It is certainly also due to campaigns led by groups such as The DS Family Network and the determined focus on the abilities of people with DS.

The fact is that we now celebrate people born with Down syndrome.

On this day too, Permanent Secretary Jacinta Bailey of the Ministry of Social Development makes two landmark announcements. One is that a “registry will be established to capture a nationwide record of people with disabilities in TT.”

The creation of a database has been seen for some time to be crucial to the development of services and allocation of funding. According to her, the implementation stage has already begun, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.

Ms Bailey also announces a pilot employment project for people with disabilities, including those who live with DS. The theme of this year’s World Down Syndrome Day is “What I Bring to the Work Place.”

In this week, the papers worldwide are full of stories of people with Down syndrome. The new focus is sibling love and what people with DS bring to their sisters and brothers. I can certainly testify to this.

The siblings of the young people with DS with whom I have become well acquainted have grown up to be caring, highly focused and deeply committed adults. Living with a sister or brother with DS has given them the desire to learn and to contribute to their communities.

Because we spend so much time and energy stimulating and teaching our children with DS, their sisters and brothers have benefitted. The group of siblings surrounding my daughter and with whom she has grown up, has produced a medical doctor, a volunteer who works in Africa, nurses, engineers, highly successful managers with international companies, IT specialists, teachers, and a highly successful TV director and filmmaker.

The siblings of those I knew as children with DS have picked up the skills of being aware and motivated and, above all, have developed high emotional intelligence.

On Thursday, Facebook and the papers are full of stories about the celebrations surrounding WDSD, including a car pool karaoke organised by mothers of children with Down syndrome, the odd socks campaign, the concerts and the exhibitions.

On Friday I wake to the news that the director of the award-winning Trinidadian/Bahamian film, Play the Devil, Maria Govan, is to direct episode 304 of Season 3 of Queen Sugar. The critically acclaimed television series Queen Sugar is produced by Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey and DuVernay has again assembled a directing team of only women to tell the story of the Bordelon family. It is a move that celebrates women and their gift to the world.

DuVernay, who is the first black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe for best director, has stated that hearing women’s voices is a priority for her and that this happens when people care enough.

Coincidentally, filmmaker Maria Govan has spent many years as an advocate for people with Down syndrome and her comments on this new achievement include a tribute to her beloved Poppy who died recently.

Her story foregrounds the positive energy cast by people with DS on their families and their communities. Events such as the photo exhibition curated by people with DS in Ireland to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day bring this home.

The exhibition features images of events in the lives of 12 members of the National Advisory Council, which is made up of adults with Down syndrome in Ireland. It goes a long way to shining the light in what was once a very dark space.