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October is always a significant month for us at Simone’s Oasis Foundation. It is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and in the UK it is also Black History Month.
For us, these two moments intersect in an important way: who gets seen, whose stories are told, and whether our children see themselves reflected in the world around them.
This October, we’re celebrating some important milestones, having important conversations and continuing to use storytelling to help change the narrative.
We have something very special to celebrate.
Black Child Down Syndrome (BCDS) has won the HSBC UK National Diversity Awards Community Organisation Award. BCDS was also a finalist for the BBC Make a Difference Awards.
BCDS was founded by four Black mothers:
Tonye Faloughi-Ekezie — @simonesoasis
Danise B. Martin — @pandastree_blackdsuk
Oneness Sankara — @t21alchemy
Marsha Martin — @blacksenmamas_uk
The four mums came together because they recognised a gap in representation, support and visibility for Black children with Down syndrome and their families.
This recognition is meaningful because it shines a light on a community and an experience that has too often been missing from the wider conversation.
And while awards are lovely, the work is what matters most.
This October, we’ll also be having a conversation with photographer and storyteller Misan Harriman, whose work with BCDS resulted in Reflecting Radiance.
We’ll be talking about representation, photography, storytelling and what happens when children and families who have rarely seen themselves reflected are finally placed at the centre of the picture.
Look out for the conversation on our social channels.
Representation should also be joyful.
This month, Simone will be reading one of our Ugo & Sim Sim books LIVE.
These books are deeply personal to us. We wanted to create stories where Black and African children, including children with Down syndrome, could see themselves at the centre of stories where they simply get to be children.
So this October, Simone gets to do something rather special: read her own story to you.
Follow @simonesoasis for details.
This October, we’re also celebrating 25 years of Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria and the work it has done alongside people with Down syndrome and their families in Nigeria.
There will be events and activities throughout the month to mark this important milestone, so head over to @downsyndrome.org.ng and follow along with their celebrations.
25 years is worth celebrating.
On 20–21 October, Lagos will host The African Neurodiversity Conference (TANC), bringing together people working across neurodiversity, education, research, advocacy and lived experience.
One of our own will also be part of the conversation, with Tonye joining a panel discussing “Lived Experience of Neurodivergent Individuals Across Africa.”
For Simone’s Oasis, this is an important conversation because we cannot talk meaningfully about neurodiversity in Africa without listening to the people and families actually living these experiences.
Follow @tancafrica for more information about the conference and programme.
But the work cannot stop when October does.
Representation matters in the books our children read, the images they see, the classrooms they enter, the healthcare they receive and the stories told about them.
This month, we’re celebrating the people and communities helping to change those stories.
Because being seen should never be a once-a-year event.
Last month, we shared our Back To School Toolkit
This month, we’re bringing you Let’s Talk About Down Syndrome, a set of simple visual cards designed to help children, families, teachers and friends start conversations about Down syndrome, understanding difference and inclusion.
Every month, our newsletter will come with a practical resource you can use, share and keep coming back to.
The work of representation, inclusion and advocacy doesn’t stop when October does.
At Simone’s Oasis Foundation, we use storytelling, creativity and lived experience to help change the way children with Down syndrome, autism and other neurodevelopmental differences are seen and understood, particularly across African communities.
Explore this month’s resource and download your free cards here →
Learn more about our work at simones-oasis.org and, if you’d like to support what we do, you can make a donation through our website.
Every contribution helps us continue creating stories, programmes and opportunities that put our children at the centre.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
Simone’s Oasis Foundation
Storytelling. Representation. Inclusion.
