Jacqueline Minchin

Jackie is a young lady with Down's Syndrome who lives life to the full and spreads laughter and happiness around her. She lives in a supported flat and works part-time in a school office where she is a valuable team member dealing with the post, shredding, going on messages and helping in the canteen. She is a shining example of someone with a positive, can-do attitude. Showing great determination, she achieved the DofE Gold Award and is also a very good swimmer, being the sole athlete from Ceredigion to have represented Wales at five UK National Special Olympics Championships. In October 2009 she was selected to swim for Team GB in the Special Olympics European Championships in Majorca. In close fought races she won gold, silver and bronze medals in 50m backstroke, 100m freestyle and the team medley relay. Despite her busy life she has time to volunteer every Friday morning at a local Playgroup. She loves to be involved with the young children, talking, playing, reading and supervising activities. Her sunny nature makes her an excellent role model for the children and their parents. Last year she was invited to a UN/ILO conference in Zambia on Employment of People with Intellectual Disabilities. There she presented a video of her daily work activities as an example of a successful employment. This was enthusiastically received and Jacqueline's story is being widely used by ILO to inspire other countries to do more for young people with intellectual disabilities.