“Kairós Project”
Can you describe the changing seasons through sounds?
Can you grasp the musicality and the sounds of reality?
Can you go and see a comic film and laugh, even if you can not see it?
Have you ever thought how the blind “in sight” who can explore new horizons, often is much more skilled than us able-bodied, blind “in the heart”, that we remain limited in everyday life, and that often we only see the anonymous flow of images without seize the true riches?
If someone can not use one of the five senses is to be considered different? And maybe we call him “disabled” even when he uses far more than us senses and perceptions, that we use little and more superficially?
If we find in the disability an energetic resource and a springboard for experiences that have never been tried and incredible? Towards new skills?
DIVERSITY IS NOT A LIMIT, BUT A RESOURCE!
HISTORY
The Kairós project was born in the Lions District 108 Ta1 thanks to some Lions members who wanted to make available their time and resources for the realization of this project and together with some local teachers they developed some didactic paths for the elementary schools and middle.
Thanks to their passion and their positive strength, they were able to involve the multiple district Leo, in fact, the project was National Awareness Theme from 2012 to 2017.
In the present social year it was optional service for all Italian Leos and this decision was reconfirmed during the XXII National Conference also for the next social year.
DESCRIZIONE
The peculiarity of the Kairós project lies in the desire to develop a “reverse integration“, through the creation of situations in which the “able-bodied” try to act as the “different” and in which we do not try to make the difference different to us but rather, try to discover the wonders of its diversity.
We are, in fact, deeply convinced that “able-bodied” people really need a greater awareness of diversity and that, thanks to the knowledge of the difficulties that disabled comrades must overcome in everyday life, they can share more and more common areas and they can internalize the needs of the other so that diversity can truly be a source of inner richness for everyone.
How to implement the project?
It is possible to divide the way the project is implemented into two main categories:
a) Collaboration with primary and secondary schools
Manuals have been created (“In Search of Abilian” and “Alla scopera dell’Alveare”) with educational paths for primary and secondary school children, through which a recreational-reflective activity is proposed that allows children to do concrete experience of disability-diversity and to make reflections on one’s emotions in this regard.
Playing or drawing in the dark, writing with glove, getting involved to be able to communicate with classmates who can not see or hear, play with another child who can not move his legs or arms: these are activities that allow us to live an experience of diversity, which is normal for some people.
b) Awareness events
The project fits easily even in the field of extra school through the realization of various awareness events, such as dinners in the dark, film clubs, sports events with the disabled, took to the streets, conferences, literary readings, concerts in the dark, which lead to reflect on the ways in which we relate to people “different” from us.
