Kamala Jayasundara

Merrill J. Fernando is a person who believes that every child, no matter what their ability, and background, should have access to the same chances in life. As a mother, I am eternally grateful to our Founder for giving my son the chance to find a productive & meaningful life well into his adulthood.

Nipuna is my only son. The day I got to know that he had Down Syndrome, I was heartbroken. But my husband and I knew that Nipuna was capable 105 of doing great things. As parents, we gave him the best possible care as a child. He grew up in a village, where he had all his freedom to be himself. Little Nipuna would spend hours in the outdoors, climbing trees and building sandcastles in the garden. He had healthy nutritious meals and was never hesitant to try things that cousins of his age did. We home-schooled him until he was 8
years old and later enrolled him in an Institute for youth with special needs in Colombo. As Nipuna approached his twenties, I brought him to MJF Centre in Moratuwa where he was able to turn his passion into a successful business.

I came to the Centre as a parent but later joined as one of the teachers for the Rainbow Youth. It’s a personally satisfying job because I get to share my experiences and knowledge both as a teacher and a parent of a son with Down Syndrome. Here, children get to live a normal life in a facility that gives them exposure and experiences unlike anywhere else. I work mostly with teenagers who have Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum. With the right time and guidance, most children here learn to read, write and express themselves with confidence. I give them extra support for certain subjects like reading & math. Young girls and boys who couldn’t even hold a pen nor speak a word before are painting, narrating stories and doing sums now. Eventually, they can get Vocational Training at the Centre and find a job that would enable them to be independent in life.

It’s a personally satisfying job because I get to share my experiences and knowledge both as a teacher and a parent of a son with Down Syndrome. Here, children get to live a normal life in a facility that gives them exposure and experiences unlike anywhere else.