By Ye Lei
After I visited DSi on January 15, 2019, whenever people from other countries asked about Down syndrome cases in China, DSi would recommend me. As a result, I had an online communication with the president of the Down Syndrome Association of Australia. We had a 45-minute video chat. What impressed me deeply was theAustralian experience: how to unite all the Down syndrome organizations across the country to jointly strive to win the right to host the World Down Syndrome Congress.
The Australian serves as the vice president of APDSF (Asia Pacific Down Syndrome Federation). Down syndrome organizations all over the world have been united. There are organizations from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. They have been doing this lively for many years, and we just didn't know about it.
The Australian vice president immediately informed the Indian president of APDSF that there were people in China dealing with Down syndrome! (This was a scene in my imagination.) Our Asia-Pacific region couldn't do without China!
So I received an email from the president of APDSF, and thus we established contact with the Asia-Pacific Federation.
On August 6, 2019, at the Kempinski Hotel in Beijing, I met Mr. Ramachandran, the president. We had a 40-minute conversation. Mr. President warmly invited us to join the Asia-Pacific Down Syndrome Federation. He said that as long as we are a group of people serving those with Down syndrome, we will be recognized and accepted. Come on! The Asia-Pacific region welcomes the Chinese!
In December, with the permission of the Chinese Down Syndrome Committee, we participated in the Asia-Pacific Annual Meeting as parents. During the national report session, I specifically stated that I was speaking on behalf of parents to tell the story of our ten-year agreement, which won the respect and praise of various countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Since then, we have become a member of the Asia-Pacific region. We feel at home in this big family and have established good relationships with Down syndrome organizations in various countries.
