Special kids enjoy pizza-tossing skills
By Cedrina Norlaila A. Clark

"Gosh! That's high!" Dale Patrick of Fratini's Restaurant tosses pizza dough high up in the air 

Yesterday morning, 40 children with special needs were treated to a meal and demonstration at Fratini's Restaurant on the ground floor of Yayasan Shopping Complex in the capital. The restaurant is open from 10 am till 10 pm daily with afternoon tea from 3 pm till 6 pm. The forty children with special needs were mostly from KACA House in Kg. Kiulap and five of them were from Mukim Sengkurong B. They were accompanied by their parents, guardians and friends.

Janey Gilkey, Supervisor of KACA House and her Playgroup Assistants were present to help these children be seated at their chairs and tables.

Most of the special needs children suffer from Down Syndrome, Speech-Delay, C.P, deafness, hyperactivity, and other ailments.

They were shown how to make the base of the Fratini's pizzas by Dale Patrick, the Pizza-Maker and they watched him kneading the pizza dough and rolling it into a flat base. He thrilled the children by throwing up the pizza into the air to make it thinner.

The special needs children enjoyed the pizza-making session. They were also allowed to play with the dough assisted by their parents, guardians and friends. This gave them some help on how to copy the actions they see.

They were also shown how to put toppings onto the dough with cheese and sauce as well as how to put the rolled dough onto a greased pan using a special metal spade and into the oven. The pizza took ten minutes to cook.

The aromatic smell of the freshly-baked Fratini's pizza filled up the whole restaurant. Each child was given a slice of pizza to taste and a soft drink. Fratini's restaturant's waiter Brix was seen helping them out with the drinks and pizza.

According to John Lim, Supervisor of Fratini's Restaurant, these special needs children were treated at Fratini's at least once a year. It was fun to observe them enjoying themselves so much.

The trip was a good experience for the children as they were exposed to the outside worlds and this broadened their minds, and gave them some physical and mental exercise. These special needs children felt very happy with the Fratinis' treat they received.

Courtesy of Sunday Bulletin