If you want to perform socially valuable work while in our city, a volunteer program is available. You can volunteer with children with Down Syndrome, in public support centers, or teach English in various local communities.
Those of us who are part of the Center to Support the Integration of Children with Down Syndrome greet you with affection and respect and ask that you take a moment to read the following information about our organization.
The Center to Support the Integration of Children with Down Syndrome A.C. (CAPINDO) was born of a need to have a place in the state of Oaxaca that would focus on the fact that persons with Down Syndrome are human beings.
In August, 1995, parents and friends of persons with Down Syndrome met together for the first time. On the 22nd of April, 1996, we formed a non-profit organization to work to ensure a better quality of life for those born with Trisomy 21, the condition that causes Down Syndrome.
Our fundamental objective is the development of a action plan to promote health, education, recreation, sports, skill development, and the ability to work as well as scientific research relating to persons with Down Syndrome. We will accomplish our goal by promoting integrated activities in their family, school and social communities through the participation of community leaders, parents, professionals and others interested in our cause.
The principal activity of CAPINDO is education.
Our Education Project began in September, 2001. Its goal is to develop the potential of persons with Down Syndrome so that they can participate in activities relating to education, health, and employment as well as use of free time at home and in the community-activities of daily living that are typical of any society. We have been working to accomplish this goal for 15 years.
Teachers and assistants, who want to see progress in our students, provide sincere effort every day to help us in our work. Our work team includes a school coordinator, a primary special education teacher, a speech teacher, an occupational therapist, a pediatrician, and educational assistants.
Each person with Down Syndrome is to us a special person, someone we want to accompany as they discover the world and become part of it.
To summarize our objectives to benefit persons with Down Syndrome:
• To provide help efficiently
• To look after their well being
• To provide necessary support
• To promote their happiness
• To furnish the means for their personal and social development and achievement
At present, CAPINDO offers EARLY INTERVENTION at the preschool and special education primary levels, as well as embroidery workshops and basket weaving. We currently serve 28 persons with Down Syndrome, the majority of our resources going to persons ages 4 to 48. In order to provide these services, parents pay a monthly fee equivalent to two weeks’ pay for our teachers, speech therapist and educational assistants, costs that take up the majority of our scarce resources. The rest of our support comes from benefactors and fundraisers. We provide services from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at 109 Calle Netzahuacoyotl in Colonia Reforma, in Oaxaca.
Also, we have a SCHOOL FOR PARENTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS . Every two months we present a program to improve care provided by the family at home to persons with Down Syndrome.
Our HEALTH PROGRAM identifies and prevents illnesses in persons who attend the school through medical exams at the beginning, middle and end of the school year or when necessary.
Our WORK PROGRAM provides training to promote economic independence in our students, helping them to become useful persons with high self-esteem and improving their quality of life, now and in the future.
Our EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM cares for infants. It helps parents, families accept their baby and promotes improved neurological and motor development in the child.
Thanks to strong support from our volunteers, CAPINDO also offers classes in painting, music appreciation, and movement once a week. We also participate in a reading program sponsored by the Alfredo Harp Helu Foundation.
It is important to mention that gifts to CAPINDO are tax deductible. Donations can be deposited directly into account 00188301999, branch 5683, of BBVA Bancomer, in the name of Centro De Apoyo Para La Integracion Del Nino Down, A.C. We also appreciate volunteers who are willing to donate their time or to give materials we can use in our classes.
We hope that this information will be useful to you. If you have questions or comments, we would be happy to hear from you.
Sincerely,
"For the Right to live together"
Rosa Maria Gonzalez Ruiz
Board President of CAPINDO, A.C.
