Barbados Council for the Disabled Public Relations Officer Christopher Gilkes (left), accepting the books from Kiwanis Club Pride of Barbados President Nicola Yard.
Kiwanis Club Pride of Barbados has extended a helping hand once again to the Barbados Council for the Disabledas they presented the local organisation with their Inclusive Play colouring book titled “We Are All Able”.
The project, which saw 40 books being donated in the first instance to be distributed to schools in the local education system, is aimed at raising awareness among children in both the disabled and able-bodied communities.
The presentation took place at the Council’s Harambee House headquarters yesterday evening and it was revealed that the book, which was illustrated by Akil Designs, was completely sponsored by the National HIV/AIDS Commission and will see larger quantities being made readily available for even widerdistribution.
The donation was made by Kiwanis Club Pride of Barbados President Nicola Yard and she noted that her organisation recognised and applauds the work being done by the Council, as it worked towards facilitating a fully-accessible Barbados. She however, stated that there was still a lot more work to be done.
“Our club’s focus is primarily on children and as such we conceptualised the idea behind this colouring book which features a child with a disability and a child without a disability interacting and playing on each page. We hope that through this colouring book we can help young children learn how to embrace and accept other children and other persons despite their differences. We believe in equal opportunities for all and we hope that this paves the way for such in Barbados,” Yard said.
The books were accepted on behalf of the Council by Public Relations Officer Christopher Gilkes and he said that they were a step in the right direction.
“I have taken a look through the books and right away I saw the inclusion. This is what we are fighting for, for persons with disabilities in Barbados. Inclusion is something that we have been working on for many years and this book alone will help to pave a way to make things better for us. Each page in this book tells a different story of kids and we have to speak to the kids first because they are the future. Once we give the kids these books I know that they will see that everyone is loved the same way,” Gilkes said. (MP)