MONTREAL — For friends Cameron and Frank, growing up with disabilities hasn’t always been easy. They often feel different, but their new video project is out to prove that different can be wonderful.
“It was an idea I wanted to do for many years,” said 17-year-old Cameron Stoute. “We always hear that we’re not good enough, we get bullied because we have disabilities. And we wanted to show that it doesn’t define who we are, and that we are people too, and that we matter just as any body else would.”
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The initiative, called Project Worthy, will be a compilation of testimony from those who have suffered from society’s general misunderstanding of disabilities.
“It’s good to let the message out,” said 16-year-old Frank Polidakis. “People need to hear, because bullying is not nice. It’s not right. We’re all equal, we’re all the same.”
Before embarking on the project, the pair filmed a short promo video and posted it online.
“We wanted to get people psyched about it,” said Cameron. “We wanted to see if we did this video, would people care? Or are we doing this for no reason?”
As it turns out, people cared. The video has already been viewed thousands of times.
“The fact that they’re doing it, not to get gratification, but they’re doing it because they feel that it’s the right thing to do, that’s why I’m so proud of them,” Frank’s mother, Sandra Ceide, told Global News.
The promo video even made its way to none other than Montreal Canadiens star, P.K. Subban, who has featured Project Worthy on his website.
“What this whole experience is doing for their self-esteem is just amazing,” said Glenda Bernstein, who works with the boys at Summit School. “It’s great for them.”
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Now, the teens are working hard to finish up their final product.
“I think it’s going to touch so many people,” said Cameron’s mother, Sabrina Stoute. “People that have been bullied, people that haven’t been bullied, people who aren’t even aware of the impact that bullying has on our society.”
While Cameron and Frank hope that Project Worthy will bring comfort to others, it has been therapeutic for them as well.
“It’s so motivational to hear from other people who are going through the same thing that we are going through,” said Cameron. “We’re all just growing up as a community and we’re showing everybody that we’re worth something.”
The final video is expected to be ready by next week. After that, the boys have plans to keep their message alive: Project Worthy is just the beginning.
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