Antalya to host run for Down syndrome children

ANKARA

The Friendly Life Down Syndrome Foundation Theater Club will stage their first play on May 25. All the actors of the club are persons with Down syndrome.

The popular resort city of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast will host a charity March 2 run to raise aid funds four different projects, including the “Friendly Life Down Syndrome Foundation (Dost Yaşam Vakfı).”

“The lives of children and youngsters with Down syndrome are extremely difficult. We will run to give them a theater, which will always be theirs, as a gift. Because theater is one of the few environments where these children and youngsters can express themselves and where they feel precious. It is very important for us that it becomes a sustainable project,” said one of dozens of voluntary runners who will run on March 2 in the “Runtalya Marathon.”

The volunteer requested to speak anonymously with Hürriyet Daily News as she believed the project itself ought to be the center of attention. She is a member of the “Action Is Life!” (Hareket Candır!),  which is a group composed of volunteers like her who run for charity.

“Thanks to theater, they are holding on to life more willingly and they are living the happiness of achieving something. Running for them will be an unspeakable happiness, no matter how many kilometers we will run,” the same volunteer said.

Friendly Life Down Syndrome, presided over by Erdal Özkan, was founded by families with a child affected by Down syndrome in 1998 in order to solve the common problems that they experience and to provide support to the families who need help and support.

The children who are involved in theater activities are currently not able to move on with their activities due to the absence of sufficient financial support, and they need a permanent stage where they can act.

As such, donations are urgently needed. Those who want to donate through this marathon can use the bank account below, making the donation in the form provided:

Receiver (Alıcı): Dost Yaşam Vakfı ING Bank Bayrampaşa Şubesi (Branch) IBAN: TR36 0009 9004 0914 5200 100001 The EFT Line should be written as: “‘HC – Dost Yaşam – The Name and Last Name of the Donor.”