2016年CRI Walk with ＂Snails＂ on China's First Intellectually Disabled Day

 

Though it rained fairly heavily on Saturday, all of the so-called "gold snails²" didn't seem to mind as they took part in the "Snail¹ Walk" through the Olympic Forest Park in northern Beijing.

One of the obvious questions people have is why organizers would use the term "snail" when promoting an event for the intellectually disabled.

Zhang Baolin, chair of the China Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families, says the term "snail" is not meant to be derogatory.

"Professor Zhang Wenliang from Taiwan wrote a poem, named 'Hold a Snail for a Walk.' In it, he compares snails to children. Snails are gentle, diligent³, steady and patient. Their only shortcoming is it takes them time to catch up. As such, we decided⁴ to borrow the idea from professor Zhang in describing children with intellectual disabilities, as well as other folks who are also intellectual disabled."

Well-known actress Wang Ji was invited as the image ambassador to the event, taking time to recite the poem penned by Zhang Wenliang before walking with the children through the park.

Zhang Yan with Beijing Union University is one of those who decided to volunteer to help with this year's event in Beijing.

"In our experience, these 'little snails' are just so lovely. They're very cute and nice. It's very relaxing to be with them, since they are not very demanding. All these kids really want is just a little encouragement, someone to be patient with them, and someone to talk to."

Yu Beibei is one of the 'gold snails' who took part in Saturday's walk through Forest Park.

"Today I am very happy. There are a lot of teachers and volunteers walking with me. The activity is pretty good. I want to do more of this kind of stuff."

The China Association of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and their Relatives has declared the second Saturday in May as "Gold Snail Day."

Of the roughly 80-million people in China with some form of disability, around 9-million are listed as intellectually disabled.

Mrs. Zhao, the mother of a 16-year old boy with Down syndrome⁵, says anything to draw more attention to helping⁶ people with disabilities is a good thing.

"Though my son is not as capable as other children, he still deserves the opportunity to study and be educated. I've never given up on him, maintaining my faith and hope during the nearly 15 years he's been going through special training."

Caring for someone with a developmental disability in China has long-been a burden on families.

As such, Chinese authorities have been introducing policy changes to give the families of those with disabilities additional help, including more financial support and creating new facilities where children with developmental disabilities can be taught to function in society.

For CRI, I am Chi Huiguang.

1 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

2 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。