| The Differently Abled Girl Guides at Supem Uyana, Galle, have every reason to give themselves a pat on the back. Their hard work and enthusiasm has won them the first ever award presented by the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) for the Outstanding Institution this year.
Supem Uyana focuses on enabling girls to follow the syllabus of the mainstream Guides with necessary alterations to cater to the capabilities of the Differently Abled girls. The girls earned several badges awarded with the accomplishment of each challenge- the needlewoman’s, artist’s, dancer’s, cook’s, animal lover’s, camper’s and collector’s badges in addition to flower arrangement.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm and progress,” enthused Marlyn Dissanayaka, former Director of the Differently Abled Branch of the SLGGA. The current Director is Saumya Jayasekara.
The award for the Outstanding Institution was introduced this year on a suggestion made by the Asia Pacific Regional Committee. As each differently abled child has his/her own unique capabilities, and thus it is not fair to compare the children, it was decided that the award should be given to an institution.
“The shield for the Outstanding Institution is given as a means of motivating the Differently Abled Girl Guides to continue their good work,” explained Mrs Dissanayaka. Supem Uyana has some 30 enrolled girls from Little Friends to Guides to Senior Guides.
Mrs Dissanayake added that there are many more institutions that wish to start guiding for their Differently Abled girls especially following the International Differently Abled Camp held in August this year. But as 90 percent of the funding has to be provided by the SLGGA a serious lack in funds threatens to be an impediment to the good work done by them.
This Christmas, in keeping with the spirit of caring and giving, the general public can lend a hand by purchasing the creative Christmas cards and calendars made by the Differently Abled Guides, which are an effective way of spreading awareness regarding the capabilities of the Differently Abled community.
The cards and calendars (priced at Rs 350) are available at SLGGA headquarters, No. 10, Marcus Fernando Mawatha, Colombo 7. |
E-mail
