What do Llamas, the Boy Scouts, Brazilian drummers, clowns and high school cheerleaders have in common? They were out in force to support an important cause: the 2018 Buddy Walk organized by the Down Syndrome Network Oregon.

We were just ambling through Lake Oswego, a small suburb of Portland, on our way to the river for a Sunday morning walk. And there they were: announcing themselves from afar with loud, cheerful music, milling about on the Millennium Plaza, a square that usually holds the local farmer’s market. Yet another dear, patient friend of mine who had to bear with me disappearing into the crowd, camera in hand, spontaneously documenting the richness of human connectedness in this city, the lovely small- town feel while marching with a national cause.

 

The NDSS, National Down Syndrome Society, instituted the buddy walk in 1995 to promote public acceptance and inclusion of people living with Down Syndrome. They had some 17 events across the country during this inaugural year. 4 years later they added a fundraising component and a Times Square video to raise awareness; in 2001 their logo of a family holding hands was born. National conferences followed, special events as far away as military bases in Afghanistan, and by last year the event saw some 330.000 participants, in more than 250 national and international events, raising 14.2 million dollars for research and education.

Reading up on this history brought another history to mind: it has only been 4 years, since 2014, that a memorial in Berlin honors the victims of the Nazi’s T4 “program,” the systematic killing of people with disabilities, children with Down Syndrome among them. Even in ideology-driven, violent death and its commemoration, disability ranks last.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/a-memorial-to-the-nazis-disabled-victims/379528/ 

Let’s return to the brilliant mood and energy experienced on a market square on Sunday. The names of the teams alone were up-lifting. So was the outpouring of friends and families. Rita’s Ramblers, Hudson Hornets, Drew Cru, Miles for Miles, Claire’s Crusaders, Piper’s Posse, all gathered in the crowd, and my favorite name: Nolan’s Gnomies who invited on the website of the fundraiser with We hope you will JOIN us on Sept 23rd rolling with my Gnomies with extra Chromies!

Even the teens of the cheer leading squad rose to the occasion – up early on a Sunday morning, in identical outfits down to the lipstick (they seemed to be sharing a single one) with probably hours gone into carefully grooming ponytails (can you not cheerlead if you have short hair?): they were there for the cause.

 

 

 

The drummers drummed,

the clown blew balloons,

the llamas chewed,

 

and the Boy Scouts, well the Boy Scouts did some serious patriotic business which we will ignore.

We’ve come a long way.

More information in link below.

Buddy Walk