By Margareta Kecman | Director
Dear KEC Supporters,
When the professionals at KEC speak about their mission it is usually oriented towards gaining and maintaining skills. But we also need to think about the happiness factor of what we do. Our Aleksandra is a good example of how we might want to use the “smile-meter” as a judge of the impact we are making.
Aleksandra was born in 1984 to a very poor family. Her parents had lost three children before her so her birth filled them with the greatest joy. Living in a tiny damp apartment working at unstable low paying jobs life was hard for all of them but Aleksandra was the one thing that gave her parents happiness. Early on her parents started to notice delays and problems. As her psychological and developmental issues became more pronounced she retreated further and further from the world. After barely finishing elementary school she retreated entirely and refused to venture out of her family’s small apartment. For many years she remained in this total isolation from the outside world with her only human contact wither her mother and father. Despite their very limited resources her parents tried many things to engage her in the world but with little success. When her mother heard about the KEC center she was determined to give that too a try. In 2015 Aleksandra’s mom brought her to see the KEC center. Aleksandra sat in the corner crying, refusing to engage and begging to go home. That all changed when the group leader happened to turn on the music for a dance and singing workshop. Aleksandra’s tears stopped and quietly she began to sing and move to the music. After a few minutes she got up from her seat and started to dance and for the first time in a very long time she had a smile on her face. Now her mom was the one crying tears of relief to finally see her daughter smile. In the intervening years Aleksandra has become a daily beneficiary of the center, is very proud of her job at a local supermarket and smiles a whole lot.
The KEC center will continue to focus on helping people with disabilities gain skills, live integrated lives in their local community but we are also aware of the “smile barometer” as well. With your continued support we can continue making sure that we are helping people with disabilities gain skills and smiles.
Links:
By KEC | Fundraising Team
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