World Down Syndrome Day Celebrations 2018 in Sri Lanka was indeed a great day for me with full of memories and experiences as it was my first Rotaract project with the Rotaract club of University of Sri Jayawardenapura. WDSD celebrations was organized by Rotaract District 3220 Sri Lanka and Maldives  with the aim of empowering children living with Down Syndrome in a sustainable manner, along with their parents and teachers.

With the participation of more than 100 children with special needs with their loving family members, teachers and with more than 250 Rotaract members from different Rotaract clubs island wide, this event was held at Visakha Vidyala Colombo 04 on 29th of March.With the arrival of the kids with their caregivers the registrations were done and a small pack of snacks was provided. After the registration process, all the kids were assigned to the doctors for their medical checkup. The medical camp was organized for the kids along with provision of prescribed pharmaceuticals free of charge.

Many fun activities like games and painting events along with face paintings were organized by the club members to make the event more memorable to the kids. The art exhibition of these talented kids with special needs has been catching the eye of each and every person who was present at the event and empowering programs for parents and teachers were also conducted.

 After the lunch the 2nd phase for the day stared. It was totally allocated for the entertainment of the kids along with a talent show of these kids. The presence of many special invitees including the Governor of the district and the Ambassador for youth human rights, Miss Eshani Diana Jayapola(Miss Sri Lanka -2016)   added more glamour to the event. The whole audience was amazed with the singing and dancing talents of these kids. They were truly gifted with those amazing talents. During the variety show there was a mini award ceremony to award certificates and gifts to the winners of the art competition, and also certificates and some tokens of appreciations were gifted to the teachers to appreciate their valuable service.

At the end of the variety show there was the “nonstop baila session” where each and every kid got a chance to dance just as much as they wanted. They were not alone. All the Rotaract members along with the amazing organizing committee of WSDS joined the kids, and the kids really enjoyed that moment with full of laughter on their faces.

The end of the celebration was marked with giving away a mini gift packs for the kids. I must say this was one of the most remarkable day in my life which I got to work with these loving souls with special needs for the first time and it was a great experience. I really enjoyed my time with them, moreover their dancing, singing, painting talents amazed me. And also I made many new friends from other Rotaract clubs and it was a great experience. I thank Rotaract club for giving me this opportunity and I’m truly glad that I joined Rotaract.

Rtr. Yasasi Samarakoon.