Purple Fest is India’s First-of-its-kind inclusive festival that celebrates persons with disabilities. Individuals from various spheres of disability were invitees to this festival where unity took center stage, and diversity is celebrated with open arms. It was at this festival that DSFI decided to conduct its Medical cum therapy camp for Persons with Down syndrome. Our specialists were also open to the idea of counseling any one with disability who wanted to be consulted. Our specialists met almost 60 persons with Down syndrome in a day and were able to guide them. Parents met up with the Endocrinologist, Pediatrician, Orthopedic, Mental Health specialist, Vision specialist, ENT, Dentist and Geneticist with their self-advocates and were provided the guidance needed to help them lead healthy lives.

Shri.Guruprasad Pawaskar, State Commissioner for Person with Disabilities aand Shri. Subhash Phal dessai, Hon’ble Minister of  Social Welfare inaugurated the event along with Shri. Subhash Shirodkar, Honorable minister of Water Resource Development

Co-Operation and Provedoria. The Minister spoke about his daughter who is a person with special needs and how she made life a learning experience for him. He appreciated DSFI and Dr. Surekha Ramachandran for her foresight and her dedication to the cause.

The next day, a Panel discussion was held where parents were able to understand the various issues faced by the self-advocate and how to help them overcome these issues. Overall, the Purple Fest was an eye-opener for DSFI and parents were happy to connect with each other and looked forward to more such events that can pave way for stronger self-advocates.