Meet Adele, the wonderful Greek Australian who stocks supermarket shelves, so we don’t go without during the coronavirus crisis

"All our daughter wants is to see people smile,” say her parents

Theodora Maios
2 April 2020 9:01am

Greek Australian Adele Solomon was born with down syndrome, but that doesn’t hinder her from getting up every morning to go to work and stock the shelves at one of the busiest supermarkets in Adelaide.

Since the covid-19 pandemic and the hoarding outbreak that followed, the hard-working young lady with the infectious smile and impeccable manners, works extra hard to keep the supermarket shelves full.

She says she really doesn’t want anyone to go without.

Adele, who celebrated her 21st birthday last month, started working at Romeo’s Foodland Rundle Mall back in June 2019.

She is fully aware of the implications and complexities of covid-19 pandemic and takes all necessary precautions to keep herself and others safe during the outbreak.

She loves her work and her shelves are probably the most organised and well stocked shelves in SA.

“As parents we have always set the bar really high for Adele and we are certainly very proud of her achievements. She is a motivated, hard-working young individual who wants to contribute and give back to the community any way she can,” John Solomon, Adele’s father, told Neos Kosmos.

After the birth of his younger daughter, Mr Solomon made the decision to leave a successful career in media and advertising and care for her full-time.

Adele graduated from school with the Anthony Patten Excellence Award and the Governor’s Commendation Award (Modified SACE).

She also works part-time as an office assistant at a real estate agency.

“For us, watching our little girl graduate from school and have the tremendous motivation to work two jobs is inspiring. That’s what most parents want for their children. We couldn’t be happier,” Mr Solomon said.

His experience lead him to establish the not-for-profit organisation ‘Foundation21’ (named after the chromosome responsible for Down syndrome) that was set up in order to educate and raise awareness about Down Syndrome and also assist other families facing the same challenges.

Scientifically, the presence of chromosome 21 in a person is responsible for the most common chromosomal disorder but for those parents whose children are diagnosed with Down Syndrome, the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the presence of that one extra chromosome that makes their children even more special.

And that is exactly what Adele is. Special.