“FAMILY DAY”
"Family Day" was celebrated with great
enthusiasm by “Pratidhwani WB” - a
state level federation of parents associations of children and persons with
deafness on 16th December,
Saturday, 2017 at Bishop’s College, Kolkata. About 315 people across 9 districts of West
Bengal (Bankura, Jalpaiguri, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas,
Midnapore, Hooghly, Kolkata etc.) actively participated. There were nearly 160 children
and young adults with deafness, their siblings and friends. The other part of
the group was their parents, family members, teachers, friends and well
wishers.
In
the first session, various programmes like sit and draw, sports and sharing of
experiences by parents, young role models and guests took place. Post lunch
attractions were magic show, mime, band police performance and group dance by
all deaf children & young adults.
The
entire programme was supported by Savlon
(ITC Group), Arambagh and Bigbazaar.
We all gathered in the college premise at 10.00
a.m. sharp. Post completion of the registration formality and breakfast, we
moved to the adjacent playground for the inauguration programme. The programme
was started with March past accompanying police band which created a wonderful
momentum. Then, the programme was inaugurated by lighting diyas in a flower filled
water container by a child and parent from every group followed by a member
from the Police band and present eminent guests.
Around 11:30 A.M, the guests and parents were
requested to take their seats in a well decorated class room in the vicinity of
the playground. The programme was started with presentation on Pratidhwani WB
and its ongoing activities by Ms. Snigdha Sarkar, Secretary, Pratidhwani. Then
four young adults with deafness shared their experiences and the audiences
mainly parents of deaf children and young adults from various districts were
quite enthused and probably got a ray of hope while looking at the confidence
level of the young deaf persons to deal with life. Not only that, the parents
also came forward and shared their view points to continue the process of the
betterment of the deaf children and young persons. Ms. Nilanjana Mondal from
Prayas, Howrah recited a poem on Pratidhwani followed by a brief video
presentation of Savlon on hygiene and usefulness of handwash. Ms. Kuhu Das,
Director of Association of Women with Disabilities, herself a person with
locomotor disability, spoke of her personal experiences and her experiences of
working with women with disabilities and Ms Aditi Basu from Anjali spoke about
issues of persons with psycho social disabilities. Ms Snigdha Sarkar
appreciated guests’ deliberations and highlighted that as parents of deaf
children and persons our thoughts tend to move around deafness alone but there are
people with other disabilities and they too have to struggle and we must
remember that while we work for our children we must work in solidarity with
others so as to make it an inclusive journey. Mr Dilip Banerjee, the last
speaker, also a guest from last year emphasised that he knew from his
experiences that mobilising parents from across the state was not easy and he
highly appreciated the concept of a Family Day. The strength of the society
lies in the family and it was important for families to come under a platform
to feel the strength of togetherness and solidarity.
At the same time, a sit and draw event was
organized where all the children took part spontaneously. While the young
children took part in sit and draw, resource person and actor Mr. Avijit Ghosh
prepared older children with presentation for the afternoon programme. All
sports related things were timely set up and the equipment was arranged by the sports
team under the guidance of our parent members. All games were conducted aptly
and every one of us enjoyed. After the sports activity; we came back to the
dining hall where delicious lunch was served at 2.00 p.m.
The next part of the programme started with
magic show after lunch and everyone enjoyed the tricks of the magician Mr. S.
Guha. The Police Band presented a beautiful show for the children after the
magic show. The children immensely enjoyed both the programmes. The next
attraction of the day was mime show by two deaf adults from SILENCE. All
children and young adults beautifully performed dances to the tune of popular
songs under the guidance Mr. Abhijit Ghosh.
The programme ended with distribution of
gifts to every child and parent with gifts donated by Savlon (Savlon Hand wash
liquids) as a token of love and positive gesture. It was indeed a great day for
the children, young adults, their parents and family members and teachers as
well, as it strengthened the bond between all of us.
Without the support and active involvement
from the below mentioned parents group, the programme could not be so successful
and memorable for the children and the young adults with hearing impairment. The
groups are:
- Anwesha Kolkata
- ASHA, Jalpaiguri
- ANGIKAR, 24 Pgs (N)
- Bondhu Kolkata
- Chareibeti,24 Pgs(N)
- Khakurdah, Midnapur (W)
- Pather Disha, Hooghly
- PKK, Hooghly
- Prayas, Howrah
- Prerona Kolkata
- SANNIDDHYA, Nadia
- Samadhan, 24 Pgs(S)
- Uttaran, Bankura
- Udita,CINI Kolkata
