Having been a fashion model for many years I thought it would be a good idea to pass my skills on to children who could benefit from my experience. I have been a judge at various fashion shows and it occurred to me that there were no disabled children. I thought, “Why not?’’

I contacted the Down’s Syndrome Society and they were immediately interested in my idea. I have worked closely with Marthese ever since to initiate this project.

These children are, in my opinion, very special but unfortunately, in Maltese society, they appear to be marginalised or ignored completely. They have many talents which need to be enhanced. They are very affectionate and give more love than they receive.

I can teach them skills which will increase their self-esteem particularly by improving their confidence when modelling in front of an audience. I work with a group of eight individuals aged from eleven to 14 who possess different levels of ability and maturity. It is a major challenge for me to bring out the best in such a disparate group. Incidentally, there is only one boy in the group, so we are searching for more male models.

Specific skills which I have taught include how to present themselves confidently in front of an audience, how to make and maintain eye contact with other individuals as they can be rather shy, and to improve their speech and self-confidence.

I hope to further increase their skills by continuing to improve their posture, increase their levels of concentration on specific tasks and to bring the group closer together to ensure a more coherent final presentation.

I hope that this initiative will have a very positive outcome. Although they have a huge range of abilities and differing levels of maturity, I hope to get the group working as one unit. Hopefully, my teaching skills will improve as I increase my ability to be patient. I hope to see these individuals play a wider role in society as this kind of show will give them access to a wider range of audiences.

Through modelling, children and young adults with Down’s Syndrome will showcase their talents to enable them to play a more significant role in society.

For more information about this initiative please phone Doris on 7993-2513.