Lusito Land is actually a festival for charity, but apparently not everyone knows this so here is a look at who the festival supports and how it all started.
Many South Africans with disabilities face environmental and social barriers when it comes to their education, health and general participation in various spheres of society.
According to the World Health Organisation, about 15% of the world’s population live with some form of disability*. UNESCO estimates that 98% of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend schools**.
The plight of people with disabilities is exacerbated by various misconceptions around disability. The Disability Unit*** highlights various myths around disability such as: people who use wheelchairs are ill or sickly; wheelchair use is confining; or people who are blind develop a ‘sixth sense’, amongst many others.
Principal of Lusito School for the differently-abled, Deolinda Molina, is only too aware of the various misconceptions that people with disabilities and their families have to contend with.
“We don’t see someone as a “disabled person”. We see everyone at Lusito School as a person first and then as someone with a disability second. So, instead of saying “John is a disabled child”, we’d rather say “John is a child with a disability”.
“But, this is not the norm in our society. It is heart-breaking to see families become isolated and insular because people, including friends and family, have preconceived ideas about disability and do not even try to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges they face,” she adds.
Lusito Association (the school’s administrative and funding body) spokesperson, Noemia Contente, says the nominal number of children with disabilities in schools in developing countries is highly disturbing.
“Not only do schools provide mental and physical stimulation for children, they present the opportunity for them to learn all-important social and life skills.”
The Lusito School was established in 1979 and has subsequently grown from a small day care to a fully-fledged specialised school for Children with physical and mental disabilities from all cultures and backgrounds. We are proud to be celebrating 40 years of this noble endeavour during the coming year.
And, if you’re wondering if the school is linked to the Lusito Land Festival with its delicious Portuguese cuisine and entertainment, you’d be spot on. The festival is the Lusito Association’s foremost fund-raising event.
The cost of caring for special-needs children is beyond the means of many families. To help ease their financial burden, the Lusito Association needed to come up with creative ideas to raise funds. Not only does the festival celebrate Portuguese culture, its existence underpinned by a powerful desire to help those who need it most.
Molina says today learners at the school benefit from a host of co-curricular activities such as speech therapy, physiotherapy, music therapy, pottery therapy and hydrotherapy.
“We also have a vegetable garden where learners grow their own food. Whatever we don’t use in our kitchen, we package and sell to the parents or visitors.”
The school exudes positive energy. The sun streams into the classrooms and the walls are covered in artwork by the learners. A sensory room, gross motor room and heated swimming pool ensure learners get the therapy they need to function to their best ability.
Learners are placed in classes according to their cognitive abilities (not age) and, depending on their progress, can proceed from perceptual classes to advanced perceptual classes and vocational classes. Those who are able, and remain in the school for long enough, then progress to young adult classes.
Molina, who has been at the school for 20 years (10 years as a teacher and 10 as the principal), says most of the staff have worked at the school for extended periods.
“While the job may be challenging in the beginning, the children and their families become entrenched in our hearts. It’s a rewarding job because we know we are contributing to better quality of life for learners and their families”.
“Our deepest wish is that South African society be more educated and open-minded about including differently-abled people in their lives. Not only can it be a highly rewarding experience, the tapestries of their own lives will be richly enhanced.”
The next Lusito Land festival is taking place in April 2019. This time, you will know all the profits go to helping children with disabilities, how awesome?