ACPDI and the Chance to Be Better

Claudia is an expressive, affectionate, and cheerful girl. She likes dancing, but not as a dancer, but as a ballerina. If she hugs you or tells you about the guy who catches her eye, she does it with a sincerity that's hard to match.

I met her at the headquarters of the Lucecita Project, led by the Cuban artist Arnaldo Rodríguez, there we became friends and she has taught me that life is beautiful from her different eyes, each reunion with her, her classmates from the workshops where teacher Ileana, cultural promoter of the community and a group of families that become the same, united by their most special members, each meeting is a shot of encouragement and faith.

The boys and girls of the recently created Cuban Association of People in Situation of Intellectual Disabilities have made me cry with emotion, they have given me tears of tenderness and admiration, but never, ever, of sadness. The world does not know what they miss when they close its doors.

Therefore, the tons of things the more than one hundred thousand human beings have to give, both those who have that unusual chromosome count that we call Down Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder or any other condition that modifies their intellectual competition, like the families that accompany them in the task to be happy.

According to the National President, Mayelín Oliva, the purpose of the association is "to bring together people with intellectual disabilities, their legal representatives and/or their supporters, permanent residents in the national territory, with the aim of promoting the inclusive development of the former, participating and contributing jointly with the State and Government Bodies in the creation and implementation of instruments and mechanisms, which include the design of public policies, programs and projects, as well as guaranteeing the full exercise of the rights of this sector of the society".

This is how it’s written in its legal bases, but no explanation is more eloquent than the songs of Jonathan and his parents, he a musician, he is a musician, and she is a teacher at the Special School where the autistic son studies; Adrián declaiming for his mother; or Paula Angeline, a teenager with Down syndrome who has everything so clear:

"It’s very important, because it represents us, defends our rights, and will help people with intellectual disabilities throughout their lives."

The ACPDI flag is green like hope and an infinite blue like the sky, on it you can see a tree and a heart. Orlando Terré Camacho, president of the World Association for Special Education, gave one as a gift during the act of constitution of the Association, spoke fairly of the immensity of mothers and of Fidel, that name repeated in everything beautiful and great achieved here in Cuba. Nice gift, but nothing as priceless as these that came out of the creative, useful and willing hands of ACPDI members.

The Family Code, approved by the majority of Cubans a few months ago, established a favorable legal framework for all the rights of all people, the creation of this organization shows the institutional will to enforce them, hopefully we are up to the task and let's complete the cycle day by day, because inclusion is not a concession with them, but an opportunity for everyone.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff