Special Olympics Kenya help Intellectually Disabled fight Stigma through Sports

By Eric Akasa

Special Olympics Kenya recently held a unified soccer tournament for selected teams from around the country which gave the coaches an opportunity to identify a team to represent Kenya in the forthcoming Africa unity cup in Johannesburg later in October 2012.

Unified soccer is one of the unified Special Olympics unified sports that help break down stereo types about people with Intellectual disabilities in a fun way. Unified sports joins people with and without Intellectual disabilities on the same team inspired by a simple principle of training and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.

The forthcoming Africa unity cup will be a seven-aside featuring four footballers with Intellectual disability and three without Intellectual disability in the same team.

“This type of unified sport teams is made up of people of similar age and ability which makes practice more fun and games more challenging and exciting for all. In fact unity sport events have become signature exhibitions of the power of sport to reveal truths about how small the differences are between all people and how valuable the experience of how team work is, this is also aimed to fostering acceptance shunning away from stigmatization” Remarks John Makathimo the national Coordinator Special Olympic Kenya (SOK)

“This event will be used to select a team that will represent Kenya in the Special unified Olympics 7-aside in Johannesburg South Africa later in October.” Points out Mr. Makathimo

Mr. Makathimo urged parents with children with intellectual disabilities to join with Special Olympics Kenya.

                                                                                         

Special Olympics Kenya will take two teams and two coaches to compete in the Africa unity cup. Selecting the national team was aimed at giving them time to train together in readiness for the tournament.

According to Gilbert Mwaganda a parent from Mombasa, it is hard to identify children with Intellectual disabilities “It took me time to know that my twin sons had intellectual disabilities. At the age of five I took them to an ordinary school but they could not comprehend anything” Says Mr. Mwaganda

Mr. Mwaganda says that his children were in the ordinary school for five years without making any remarkable progress hence that prompted him to want to know the reason behind the problem little did he know that his children were intellectually disabled.

He went to the school where his children used to learn and there he was advised by a teacher to take his children for assessment where he took his children and were assessed and recommended to be taken to a special school.

“From there, I faced a lot of challenges for I took them to Kisauni Special Olympics Club in Kisauni and I stay in Kikambala so I had to take them to school and pick them later in the evening spending at least two hundred and forty shillings every day for transport without lunch and that was a big challenge to me with this economy.” Narrates Mwaganda. “Despite being intellectually disabled, one of my sons has epilepsy a condition which calls for keen observation for I have to watch over him all the time.” Adds Mwaganda.

Being a clergy with Kikambala Baptist church, Mr. Mwaganda has been chosen by the Special Olympics Kenya to go in Mombasa and look for children with intellectual disabilities in families where they are hidden and sensitize their parents to take them to schools.

”My advice to those parents who hide their children with intellectual disabilities is that they should not hide them because they may be very important people in the society.” Advises Mr. Mwaganda.

Another parent Muhammed Said with a child with Intellectual disability narrates his experience with his child to Africa news Mirror. “I took my son to a private school at the age of three when he completed his baby classes, but what surprised me is that he could not remember anything learned at school that prompted me to examine him myself at home where I gave him assignments which he could understand but after ten minutes he forgets everything.” Says Mr. Said.

“When I realized that the problem was persistent I talked to his teachers and they advised me to take my son to an assessment centre. I took him to an assessment centre and he was found to be intellectually disabled.” Says Said.

Thereafter Said took his son to Garissa Special School. He says that in Garissa, most parents lock children with Intellectual disabilities indoors for they fear and believe that it is a curse. He advises such parent to take their children to special schools for Gods plans cannot be shot changed.

According to Fridah Mutwiri a nurse at Meru Hospital most parents lack knowledge about intellectual disabilities that’s why it takes them a long time to know that their children are suffering from the condition “from the onset I knew that my daughter was intellectually disabled and when school going age came I just took my daughter straight to a special school, Meru mentally challenged school.”  Says Mrs. Mutwiri

“Before I was not used to the condition of my daughter and people used to see us as kids while walking her to school but with time I got used to her and accepted her that way I am happy wither.” She says.

“I advice those parents who lock up their children with intellectual disabilities to stop and expose their children for others to learn about intellectual disabilities.” Remarks Mutwiri. Sentiments also shared by Mercy Ndachi  who also has a child with intellectual disability and a member of Kenyatta University  Special Olympics Club which deals with Intellectually challenged children .

“We parents take our children with intellectual disabilities to Kenyatta University every Saturday for them to play with others.” Says Ndachi.

Ndachi says that the Kenyatta University Special Olympics club deals in income generating activities to help parents. “We make detergents, fire briquettes, and other products which we sell to help the group and individual parents.” She points out.

Ndachi says that those parents who lock their intellectually disabled children indoors fear stigma from the society but she advises that disability is a special ability.