Special kids in a Special place

Fundacion Integrar was a very humbling experience. Photographing kids with mental disabilities has made me appreciate life in a whole new way and increased my respect to people who take care of such kids. This is a two part story from my stay at the foundation and spending time with Mateo, a special needs kid.

It will be presumptuous and arrogant of me to know the whole story after meager 4 days of shooting at the foundation and even less time at Mateo’s house. It is just a sincere effort to tell a visual story of such an environment and bring awareness to the challenges and care.

Fundacion Integrar:
Fundacion Integrar is a Non Government Organization based in Quito, Ecuador. It serves as a day care center to help kids with mental disabilities. But the foundation is more than a care center, it is a home where they teach them to smile and interact with the outside world. The kids have varying disabilities like Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and more. The director, Irma Martinez, runs the foundation on the 1st floor of her 2 story house. She started this NGO 12 years back with the help of family and relatives. The Ecuadorian government used to provide a meager $1000 a year grant but they stopped providing 4 years back. It has been harder for Irma to support the organization goals with less money. She has excellent staffs who are experienced Speech and Physical Therapist.



Mateo:
When I was leaving Fundacion Integrar after a hectic week, Mateo lifted his head and gave me a flying kiss. That was the sweetest kiss anyone has ever given me. Mateo Solis, 7 has Cerebral Palsy since birth and comes to the foundation for his therapies. Mateo is a quiet kid and barely interacts at the foundation. But at home, he is a different person. Often smiling, laughing and often playing with his favorite toy “Tigger”. In fact he likes the Tigger so much that he has two of them, the second one is a 3 foot tall which he sleeps with. His little sister Catalina is often next to him, trying to entertain and play with him. Mother Liliana and father Fabricio make every effort to make Mateo’s life as easy as possible with utmost care and dignity. Liliana recalls, because of the countless hours of therapies at the foundation, Mateo can stand and walk by himself.

Noche de los Muertos

I had always been fascinated by this unusual Mexican celebration of life after death. More commonly known as “Dias de los Muertos” – Day of the Dead. But, it is the night when the real action happens.



Before the Spaniards arrived, it used to be celebrated in the entire month of August, but the Spaniards in order to coincide with All Saints Day, moved the date to Nov. 1st. Now it is celebrated on Oct. 31st and Nov. 1st.

I got a chance to visit Tzintzuntzan, a small village on the shore of Patzcuaro lake in the state of Michoacan to document this old tradition. Tzintzuntzan, the land of the Purhepecha’s was the capital of the Tarascan empire until it was conquered by the Spaniards in the 1520s. The name Tzintzuntzan comes from the P'urhépecha language, meaning “place of the hummingbirds.” A lot of the natives still speak the old Purhepechan language.

Most of the festivities begin later in the evening, when the parade runs through the main city block. Families carry huge wooden hoards covered with marigold flowers and pictures of their loved one’s. The parade ends at the door steps of the town church and moves inside where the head priest takes over from there. The Church was not in the original tradition but got induced by the Spaniards.

As soon as the church services end, the cultural program begins, which involves talent shows and rich traditional dances by the little ones to the elderly. The traditional Aztec ball game of fire is played in the middle of the night. This game is played next to the “yácatas”, which are semi-circular pyramids. This is a special ball made of animal skin which is lit on fire and played with something that looks like a hockey stick. During the Aztec era, whichever team won the game were sacrificed to the Gods and was considered sacred and holy.

At the end of the night everyone retreats into the cemetery. The cemeteries which often represent a dead view by the world, suddenly looks alive with millions of candle light and people hovering around them. It is not only beautiful but a very spiritual experience. Family members gather around the tombstones often singing, sharing jokes or sometimes just being there quietly. They believe that on Oct31st night is when the children and the unmarried return followed by adults on Nov1st night.

It is a night to remember.