Collecting Stories: Pictures from the researchers
As in Almost Home student became researchers in order to collect stories for the book. The first location chosen was 'Dual Blessings' which aims to "enrich the lives of the disabled through training and building up their self confidence". Their work not only transforms the lives of people with special needs, but also the lives of many other communities. Dual Blessings transcends the traditional community by "provid(ing) services such as vocational training including handicraft, recycling, computer skills, job placement, and counseling without any charge to the disabled and underprivileged". As soon as we contact this organisation we knew that our
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students would learn a lot. Before the visit the students were given some conscious raising activities in order to get them thinking about people with special needs. Many of the students hadn't had any contact or experience with people who have special needs, so it was important for them to learn more about the topic. The students were briefed and told that they would have three main tasks: learn about the centre, teach, and collect stories. After the initial shock of the task that lay ahead, the students got to work collecting ideas and methods for the teaching part of their task. Needless to say the students did a fantastic job! Check out the photos below.
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More Story Collection
Although we collected so many good stories from Dual Blessing, we still needed more. So, for the next trip, we went to a school for children who have down syndrome. Armed with a new batch of student researchers we set off to meet these amazing children and their supporters. The researchers
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first learned about the centre and some of the amazing work that they do. Then, they conducted a number of activities and games to get to know the children better. Finally, the researchers interviewed the teachers to discover why they do what they do. Check out some of the pictures below.
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