A parent of a child with Down’s syndrome faces a daunting concern, notes Jeff Rotmeyer: “You are afraid either way, that you are going to outlive your kid, or that your kid will outlive you – who is going to take care of him or her then?” As a volunteer soccer coach with Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association, Canadian-born Rotmeyer saw several of his students die young, in their 30s, despite Hong Kong having one of the longest life expectancies in the world. In 2017, he set up Love 21 Foundation with a mission to extend the lives of people with the condition. Rotmeyer is also the founder of ImpactHK, a well-known charity helping the city’s homeless . Down’s syndrome, a genetic condition, results from abnormal cell division involving chromosome 21 that causes an extra partial or full 21st chromosome to appear. This extra genetic material is responsible for the characteristic features and developmental problems of Down’s syndrome. The World Health Organisation estimates that one in 1,000 babies are born with this condition globally. People with Down’s syndrome easily gain excess weight and are also prone to heart problems, skin diseases, and immune system disorders. Rotmeyer attributed the early deaths among his Hong Kong students to a “lack of opportunity for exercise programmes in low-income families, and bad nutrition”. Love 21 works with low-income families who have a child with Down’s syndrome or other learning disability, offering free classes in sport and fitness, and nutrition and cooking classes to teach the importance of healthy eating. The foundation also provides healthy food to the families. Hong Kong woman, 90, fears for future of son with Down’s syndrome Volunteer coaches and instructors teach dancing, yoga, Pilates, rugby, soccer and basketball. There are 30 classes each week. Most of the “children” Love 21 works with are young adults who remain in their parents’ care. Several organisations in Hong Kong provide exercise programmes for people with Down’s syndrome, but not free of charge. For many low-income families, even a token fee is beyond their means. “At school, kids [with Down’s syndrome] can have [free] therapy and exercise, but after the age of 18, most of these families are on their own,” says a Hong Kong therapist who works with special needs children, who wanted to remain anonymous. “There are many heartbreaking stories.” Seventy low-income families now participate in Love 21’s programmes. “What makes Love 21 unique is that parents join 40 per cent of our classes, and some classes, such as nutrition, are only for the parents,” says Rotmeyer. He explains why. “If you build the parent up, it will help more than anything. In Hong Kong, it is common for there to just be a mom; the father often leaves [if a child has a learning disability]. “Parenting a kid with Down’s syndrome can be very tough. If the mother wants to take a break, there are two things she can give to the kid – food and [smartphone, tablet, computer] screens. A lot of processed food, white bread, a lot of Coca Cola …” At Love 21’s brand-new new centre in Diamond Hill, East Kowloon, the children are engaged in rugby training while mothers are chatting away, but this not just old friends catching up. It is therapy. “We are all in the same boat – other parents will always listen to you. We pour our hearts out to each other,” says one mother. Her friend suddenly starts crying – deep down, she says, many mothers blame themselves for their child’s disability, and so they do their utmost to make the child happy, but this means spending money, which is always very short. Even the money for the public transport to take the child to a class has to be factored in, she adds. “Here all the programmes are free, but to take part in programmes by other organisations, you have to pay up to HK$2,000 a month,” another parent says. The mothers agree that Love 21’s classes are not just about free entertainment and distraction for an hour. One parent says that her son, who is in his 30s, became more confident and communicates better after taking part. He also lost weight and is much fitter. They give credit to Rotmeyer for his help and influence. “Jeff has a lot of motivation, empathy and acceptance. A lot of other programmes are rigid, you must do exactly as they say, but Jeff looks for what potential the kids have, and then brings it out. He also thinks up activities other organisations don’t,” one says. One such activity is surfing – not usually considered something that people with Down’s syndrome are capable of. Rotmeyer elaborates. “At Love 21 we focus on what a person with Down’s syndrome can do . Our hashtag is: #somuchability. One of our students, Katie, stood up on the surfing board the very first time she tried.” Miguel Rodriguez is a volunteer surfing instructor with Love 21. The Spaniard is a tennis coach who has worked with professional players, but says that teaching surfing at Love 21 is “the most rewarding coaching I have ever done”. “You see how they evolve. Some of the kids were totally scared at first, could not even get their feet wet. But at the end they were all swimming in the waves, enjoying the ocean. You could see their faces glowing,” Rodriguez explains. Giving people full lives is another of Rotmeyer’s goals. “Most of the people with Down’s syndrome in Hong Kong end up working in a factory folding cardboard boxes. In Hong Kong, when people see someone with Down’s syndrome, they automatically think that this person is not smart enough,” says Rotmeyer. “But we must realise what that person can do, and let them have an opportunity to help our society”. Rotmeyer is working on creating such an opportunity – a network of health cafes that “will provide employment for our community and surround them with healthy nutrition”. He aims to get it started within two years. He also calls for addressing the root of the problem – the negative perception of people with Down’s syndrome in Hong Kong. Rotmeyer wants to work with secondary schools to educate students about the realities of Down’s syndrome, to enable the children to see the people beyond the disability. “I hate seeing people unfairly judged,” he adds.