For our LP family across the world

I cant believe we have hit the end of 2009!!!! The years just seem to be pass so quickly… Leah is 3 years old and I look at her and the progress she has made in such a short time and I realize how amazingly strong willed my baby girl is… she has become her own little person and has beaten the odds over so many situations that could have inhibited her progress.

With the world being in the financial situation it finds itself in, we like so many others have been feeling a bit of a pinch here and there .I guess its only human to want to have lots of money and to have all your plans work out the way you want them to be. I became really frustrated, at one point and I was slowly turning into a nasty person because I would lash out at those closest to me that being my family. I remember a few weeks before Leah’s recent hospital visit, I again found myself getting all agitated about paying hospital bills and the thought of “Oh gosh what if there is more complications that’s going to add to the hospital bills” I had completely lost focus until I sat outside one afternoon and put the video recorder on to tape the girls playing and enjoying the summer sun. My focus turned to Leah who was marching up and down and I realized something important …I was being really ungrateful and selfish, so many things could have happened during this past year but through everything we are all together and we overcame many obstacles as a family.

We are not in control of everything and there are things that we have the power to change and there are situations that will never change, we need to remember that we have to keep focused on what’s important and we should try not to let the bad things take away all our happiness. 2009 Has been a difficult year for most of us but in the same breath I think we LP parents have been doing an amazing job we have been victorious in many challenges. We have made lots of new LP friends, some of our kids have been through surgery and some precious little ones have gone to be with Jesus. What warms my heart the most is through all of this we have been there for one another no matter how near or far…. Our friendships and encouragement is priceless and has been a source of strength to many .So today I say we give ourselves a pat on the back (or even better moms get dad to massage you back) for a job well done!!!!

From The Kay family in Cape Town South Africa we thank you for showing your support by reading our blog

We wish you a happy ,blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year

We look forward to seeing you all in the 2010 and may we continue the fight in raising

“Dwarfism Awareness”

If its not Discrimination then South Africa has let me down

A few weeks ago some really discrimination jokes were made on a popular radio station…. The jokes were as follows

• Does high jump discriminate against Midgets
• Why do Midgets smile while playing soccer?? Because the grass tickles their bum

I contacted the station in order to make them aware of their actions but not receiving much joy I took it a step further, I approached the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa thinking this would be the help needed in order to raise awareness against discrimination against people with disabilities. Sadly the commotion only protects Race, Gender, Ethnicity and Religion and they don’t feel that the jokes made during the shows in question amounted to hate speech towards people with this condition!

Angry is an understatement to how I am feeling right now the only way I can express my feeling on this matter is to say im pissed off to the core of my being …….how is it possible to give the rights of the disabled such a huge miss? Do they understand the meaning of DISCRIMINATION?? AND IF THEY DO WHAT HAPPENED TO IT??

So help me out here… the way I see it if you live in South Africa it’s perfectly acceptable to joke about the physically and mentally disabled??  Did they think I was going to take the conclusion they have given me and say “oh okay sorry to have wasted your time I will just ignore the midget jokes in future”……… NO WAY im taking this all the way to the top I’m tired of all these technicalities and loopholes that allow people to get off the hook so easily. Im not accepting the answer I was given………… I’m going to make it my mission to get the answer I want, it is UNACCEPTABLE AND DISCRIMINATION and I wont stand for it… I will not allow my child to grow up in a country that is going to let her down so I have taken this one to the Human Right Commission of South Africa.

The children’s Rights act as stipulated by the Department of Justice and Correctional development of South Africa states

“ I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELONG EVEN IF IM DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PEOPLE…………AND I HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ACCEPT OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM ME”

How are you being accepting when you allow the media that has access to thousands of listeners to joke about another persons disability and use degrading terms like Midget on live air???

How are you creating awareness  when you allow a radio station to spread ignorance to the public???