31 children with and without disabilities, aged six to 10, took part in a three-day arts camp. The camp was organised for the first time by ground-up inclusive arts movement Superhero Me, and was held during the school term break at Enabling Village, a community space in Lengkok Bahru near Redhill that caters to persons with disabilities.
During the camp, which ended on Wednesday (14 March 2018), the children learnt about empathy and tried to get a better understanding of each other’s differences through activities and games specially designed for them.
The special needs children, who attended the camp for free, were identified by Superhero Me’s partners — namely special education centres AWWA School, Pathlight School, Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School and Rainbow Centre Singapore. The rest of the children paid S$50.
Supporting the event were philanthropic organisation Lien Foundation, the Enabling Village and the TODAY Enable Fund.
In a 2016 survey on inclusive attitudes, the Lien Foundation found that only three in 10 respondents agree that Singapore is an inclusive society. The results also showed that only one in 10 Singaporeans are confident of interacting with children with special needs, while one in four parents of children with no development conditions said that their child has friends with special needs.
Superhero Me co-founder Jean Loo, 34, noted that children with special needs often mix with others with similar disabilities as well, and the camp was thus an ideal avenue for children from various backgrounds to interact and make friends.
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Source: TODAY, 15 March 2018