Hetty Blades

Sunday was the last day of the workshops in Batticaloa. The participants performed at Kallady beach in the afternoon, before heading out to Chenkalady, a nearby village. We all boarded a bus that had been hired to transport all the participants between performances. Spirits were high, with many people dancing and singing in the aisles!

When we arrived at the beach there were not many people around so in order to gather people, students from the Swamy Vipulananda Institute formed a congo line and danced off down the beach. It seemed to do the trick, as the crowds soon gathered.

The performance was brilliant! All the participants’ hard work paid off. As we gathered feedback from the audience, one man told me that it had completely changed his opinion of what disabled people are capable of.

After a few false starts in Chenkalady (they couldn’t perform at the intended site due to a funeral), the second performance took place in a market in Vantharumoolai. As the sun went down, a large crowd gathered. Here the audience included two government ministers. who gave speeches about the importance of the work and handed over the VisAbility certificates to the participants.

Having witnessed how hard everyone has worked, and how much some people have grown in confidence over the course of the week, I was really moved by the performances. Some of the participants were also emotional, and told me how happy they were. At the end of this first week, it is clear to me that this work enables many of the participants to have positive and uplifting experiences. Most seemed to be leaving the workshop feeling more confident and happier than when they arrived.

During the interviews that we conducted before and after the rights workshops, it was clear that some disabled participants had not been fully aware of the benefits and services they are entitled to. Others who were aware and had applied  were still waiting for government decisions. Many participants reported that they now know more about their rights and feel braver about fighting for them. The challenge now is to maintain these feelings of strength and confidence and channel them into ensuring they are provided with the benefits and services they are entitled to. I am looking forward to returning to Batticaloa in December, and hope that I am met with news of positive change from the people that I said goodbye to last night.

Below are links to two articles about the performances from local newspapers which include images of the shows and award ceremony.

Batti News: http://www.battinews.com/2017/07/blog-post_4.html?m=1

Battinaatham: http://battinaatham.com/description.php?art=10945