Inspired By Citayam Fashion Week, See 30 SLB Karanganyar Students Lenggak Lenggok On The 'Catwalk' Enliven The ASEAN Para Games

KARANGANYAR - As many as 30 students from the Mandiri Putra Special School (SLB), Karanganyar, Central Java, became an impromptu model by bringing their artwork to enliven the 2022 ASEAN Para Games (APG) at the MSME booth at the Manahan Stadium, Solo.

"Not only at Citayam Fashion Week in Jakarta but also felt by our children participating in enlivening the ASEAN Para Games," said the Head of SLB Mandiri Putra Muhammad Fajar Riyanto when met at the Manahan Stadium, Solo, Antara, Thursday, August 4.

He explained that the impromptu model was inspired by Citayam Fashion Week (CFW) in Jakarta which was viral on social media. "There is no product of God that fails, but its potential must be developed," he said.

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His party provides a path of rectangular L-shaped mats with a length of about 2,000 meters for children with special needs to take turns walking one by one in front of the Mandiri Putra SLB booth.

Guided by seven teachers, the SLB students brought a box or tote bag with pictures of their work.

There is a picture of Rajamala, a puppet character who becomes the mascot of the ASEAN Para Games 2022, there is also an abstract picture that was painted during the vocational program at the SLB.

"These are all vocational handicraft products from children with special needs. So what we display is the work of sketches of children with autism, Down syndrome, hearing impairment, quadriplegic," he said.

The artwork was also exhibited and became an official souvenir of APG 2022.

The Mandiri Putra SLB booth was the only souvenir booth from an educational institution that participated in the event.

They sell products with the brand Daun which means From Children with Special Needs for the Country.

"The leaves become official souvenirs. The only school in Indonesia that was chosen, the rest here are professional MSMEs. There is a selection, the products are judged for their uniqueness, can they be sold, and raise the value of children's specificity," added Fajar.

The uniqueness of the Leaf product from the Putra Mandiri SLB is that all the pictures are original, the work of the school students without editing.

This makes the images on the product authentic and have a variety of expressions.

According to Fajar, every picture has a story, one of which is an abstract image in the form of circles that resemble a human face, which indicates a student when he is feeling uncomfortable.

"According to the story from the teacher, when painting in the morning, the image is expressed like an angry person, with a firm red color. After telling his mother that there was a little emotion from the child, it turned out that the mother said she had not had breakfast," said Fajar.