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Special walking tour introduces children with disabilities to public transportation
Kamila, her mother and around 60 children with disabilities, mostly children with Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy, joined the tour organized by community group Koko Jali community.
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Participants of the walking tour pose for a picture outside the Bundaran HI MRT Station in Central Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
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lad in traditional Betawi dress with a small hijab, Kamila Aprilia performed a traditional Betawi dance in front of dozens of children, mostly in strollers and wheelchairs accompanied by their parents.
The 8-year-old danced with a wide smile as she moved to the song along with a boy who also donned Betawi attire. Despite her confidence showing through, it was apparent that she was distracted by the swarm of people with mobile phones taking pictures and videos of her.
“She can dance well, but sometimes she can be easily distracted in large crowds,” Kamila’s mother Tuti Alawiyah, 44, said.
For her to perform in public was something special. She was no ordinary child as she was diagnosed with Down Syndrome when she was 8 months old.
However, the condition did not stop Tuti from boosting her daughter’s spirit as she prioritized treatment for Kamila to help with her development. Kamila had just started her first week at the State School for the Disabled (SLBN) 11 Menteng Dalam in Central Jakarta.
Her performance was part of a brief introduction of a walking tour in Central Jakarta at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Sunday. Unlike many walking tours in the city, Sunday’s tour was special as the participants were special needs children like Kamila.
