AMERICA/MEXICO - Integrating Mayan disabled children by developing their artistic skills

Merida (Agenzia Fides) - Scorned and very often segregated into their homes, hundreds of Mayan disabled children and adolescents are a tool to overcome discrimination and increase their creativity in developing their artistic and cultural skills. Statistics show that over 10 % of the population of Yucatan (1.9 million people) suffer from some kind of disability. Thanks to a group of artists, doctors and teachers, about 120 disabled children are part of a project that motivates them to discover their creative sensibility and to use art as a tool of expression.
Music, visual arts, dance, drama and literature, can be a means through which a child or young person makes progress. The first part of the program is to identify people with disabilities in the various municipal districts; the second part of the program includes workshops and group work that allows these people and their families to develop activities to recognize the different forms of artistic expression and interact with the rest of the population. A third step is to try to ensure that these children are sensitized to the different artistic disciplines which in the future can be used as a means of communication and personal development opportunities. The workshops are totally free. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 20/05/2014)