On the occasion of the World Down Syndrom Day, we conducted an information campaign together with the Bulgarian Youth Red Cross. Its aim was to bust some myths surrounding this condition, to encourage empathy and increase the awareness of young people on the subject.
Together with 9th grade, class B from PGRE “G.S. Rakovski” with the teacher Mrs. Budurova, we held a brief talk about the Dawn syndrom. We touched on what causes it, what symptoms go along with it, and what prejudices exist in relation to this condition.
Then, students wrote their positive messages to children with Down syndrome and placed them in the “Sweet Wishes” jar. At the end of the lesson, we took a picture together, and all students received a pair of happy socks, which are a traditional symbolic item for this day.
Meanwhile, our educational mediators Ani and Vili visited the “Hristo Botev” elementary school in Pomorie, where the children created colourful posters with nice messages. Look how beautifully they turned out!
In parallel with these activities, the volunteers of the Youth Red Cross placed boxes for wishes in four Burgas high schools – AEG “Geo Milev” , German language high school “Goethe”, PPMG “Acad. Nikola Obreshkov” and High School for Maritime Navigation and fishing “St. Nicholas”.
All in all, on this day we gathered a lot of positive energy for all the people in Burgas and the region who live every day with Dawn syndrom.
All wishes went to the Downtown complex in Vetren, where they read them out loud at the celebration of this occasion.
The symbol of the happy socks and date for Dawn syndrom were not chosen by chance. Socks have some resemblance to the shape of a chromosome, and people with Down syndrome have an extra 3rd chromosome in the 21st chromosome pair. Hence the choice of the date 21st of March. On the other hand, wearing two different, colourful socks is a way to show empathy and encourage conversation about diversity and acceptance.
Thank you to all volunteers and participants in this journey!
