[dropcap]D[/dropcap]igicel continues to maintain its strong alliance with the Special Needs community in St. Lucia with the hosting of its annual Festival of Fun Day. The festival coincides with the International Day for Persons with Disabilities observed on December 3 since 1992 by the United Nations. The Festival took place last Thursday at the Beausejour Indoor Facility with over three hundred and fifty children benefiting from this year’s festival.
Through strategic collaborations with the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, Special Education Department and Sacred Sports Foundation as the major partners; Digicel has for the past four years delivered extraordinary fun filled experiences to the students, with 2016 being no different. The day commenced with a brief welcome opening ceremony with calypsonian Nikki Edmunds as the Mistress of Ceremonies. In special attendance was Honourable Leonard Montoute, Parliamentary Representative for Gros Islet, Minister for Social Transformation, Public Service, Human Resource Development, Youth and Sports and Mr. Merphelius James, President of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities.
Digicel’s Country Manager Mrs. Siobhan James- Alexander highlighted the company’s delight in delivering yet another festival. During her remarks at the opening ceremony she said, “ Digicel is pleased and excited to host the Fifth annual Digicel Festival of Fun Day, we make every effort to ensure it is a day filled with fun and laughter for you our special needs family. It is no secret that Digicel is very passionate about the special needs community and this year in keeping with our Christmas theme we have gone one step further and included a special element just for you. All students will be #GetGifted today by Digicel and I do hope you enjoy your gifts. Today is your day, to celebrate and have an extraordinary time as you participate in fun sports, face painting, bouncy castles, and the many other fantastic activities we have in store for you.”
“I would like to also recognize the contribution of the teachers and caregivers to this community, thank you for always being here to support us and the children under your care. You each do a fantastic job, keep up the fantastic work you are doing.” Mrs. Alexander added.
As part of this year’s Festival of Fun Digicel also embarked on a ‘Help Dunnottar” campaign to help raise funds to the Dunnottar School given the host of institutional and operations challenges during the past year. A pledge desk for donations was established to further aid this cause and will continue beyond Thursday’s activity. Corporate citizens and patrons are asked to please donate to the “Help Dunnotar” drive at Bank of Saint Lucia account number 904-100-466.
The theme for this year’s International Day for persons with disabilities is “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want”. This theme notes the recent adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the role of these goals in building a more inclusive and equitable world for persons with disabilities.
