DSAN hosts annual fun day

Celebrating a decade
Tanja Bause
Visitors attended the Down Syndrome Association of Namibia (DSAN) annual fun and awareness day at the St George's Diocesan School on Saturday.
DSAN founder Dr Eline van der Linden said the association celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
“One of our biggest failures is that not all of our children are in mainstream schools yet,” she said. “All these children have a right to education. It is not a case of you being lucky to be in a school. It is not a luxury, it is a right. The inclusive education policy was launched the same year DSAN was established and to this day it has not been implemented effectively.
“Many schools are not right for our children and therefore they are not accepted. Schools for children with special needs such as Môreson and Dagbreek are bursting at the seams and have long waiting lists. Our children cannot be on a waiting list if they have to come into school. However, the battle is far from over or lost,” Van der Linden said.
DSAN has also helped parents register for government grants.
“It is not a lot of money at the moment, but from the next financial year it will increase to N$1 500. We are very grateful that the government has realized that they need to support parents with special children more.
“Something we have managed to do is to ensure that our people with Down Syndrome are no longer in the dark. We have managed that people are no longer ashamed of their children. We have created a community where people can reach out for help, if they need questions or advice.” - [email protected]