www.specialolympicsbharat.org

February 2020

Greetings from Special Olympics Bharat

Can you take up the Challenge that we just did?

We took the challenge and we won! Rachna and

Tanshu from Haryana, just brought back focus on the

‘not so popular’ sport in India- Speedskating. Both 15

yrs, while Tanshu won two Gold Medals, one each in

333 meter and 500 meter, Rachna clinched two

Silvers, one each in 111 and 222 meter events

The challenge comes less from the sports arena as

much as from remarks such as : “She can’t even walk

properly, how can she even try skating!” or “ Once

when he got hurt, she had to hear, ‘ he can’t think or

talk properly, now he has hurt himself as well’ But at

this moment of celebration, parents of both the

Special Athletes are ready with garlands and sweets

waiting impatiently to welcome the Champions back

from Ostersund, Sweden.

Tanshu is from Ambala while Rachna is from

Gurgaon (belonging to the Jind district) and both are

with learning Disabilities that has placed them in

Special Schools to pursue their education. While

pursuing a sport of their choice none of them had

ever imagined that this would take them to places

they had never dreamt of. They focussed sharply on the perfect moves, balance, diet and speed with

everything else outside their priority. It made them feel achieved and positive, a zone where their Intellectual

Challenges did not matter; a place where different capacities and abilities are an accepted norm.

“Children like my daughter Rachna have abilities and they deserve to be part of the mainstream society.

People have to and they must break stereotypes,and expand their perception to recognise and accept

something that they aren’t . My daughter is God’s gift to me” - Kuldip Singh

The skaters were among over 450 athletes from 19 countries at the Special Olympics Sweden Invitational

Games 2020, which took place from 1 to 4 Feb 2020 at Ostersund , made possible by support

from Erasmus+ of the European Union.

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Mission Inclusion Bharat | Youth Activation #MIB2020

To celebrate the successful partnership shared by Special Olympics Bharat, Lions Clubs International through the Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust, a two-day Youth Activation Workshop was held by the Youth Leaders of Special Olympics Bharat at the PHD Chamber, New Delhi as well as the YMCA Tourist Hostel New Delhi from 24 -25 January 2020. Supported by 77 volunteers, mentors and family members, the event witnessed participation of 87 Youth leaders with and without Intellectual disabilities from 16 States including LEOs from 9 districts of India.

The Opening function was held on the Friday 24th of January 2020 at the Lakshmipat Singhania Auditorium, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Hauz Khas, New Delhi. The function reached out to over 200 distinguished guests, Special Olympics officials, Media persons and the participants of the workshop

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Air Marshal Denzil Keelor, Founder & CEO of Special Olympics Bharat said, “What we are celebrating here is a very important initiative. We have the Special Olympics Youth Leaders of SO Bharat and the Leos of the Lions Club coming together to hone their leadership skills. Their incubation in the program, promises to significantly add to our plans for the formation of a unified generation of tomorrow” The event pitched, emphatically, for the urgency of Inclusion and the valuable role that the Youth could play in bringing it on. It also demonstrated the small steps in initiating engagements between the youth with and without Intellectual Disabilities, as the audience witnessed the event being emceed

by Unified Pairs. The two Panel Discussions stoked thoughts over Creating Inclusive Communities in India as well as globally. Full Event Report

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Inclusion is the Conclusion- Ms Aruna Abhey Oswal PID LCI & Chairperson, AAOT My husband’s passion to bring a smile on someone’s face ignited in me an extraordinary compassion; supported monumentally by the Lions Clubs International (LCI) and the Aruna Abhey Oswal Trust (AAOT), and the trailblazing Special Olympics movement – all converged to shape my ambition and momentum. Mission Inclusion is a commitment to bring out results. Till the youth don’t engage with the Athletes how will they learn what I have learnt from them? I recall an invitation to march with a team at the Austria Games 2017. I saw Inclusion and enjoyed the true zest of a barrier-free environment. It demonstrated joy, a place where everyone is an achiever. It was raining, it

was snowing, BUT nothing deterred the Athletes from marching on. The Athletes ignited a spirit in me. They empowered me and I marched along with them. Read More

__________________ An extraordinary day of adventure and thrill for the Athletes of Assam

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Rock Climbing, Ziplining, trolling, monkey crawling, climbing and rappelling is how the day unfolded for 9 Athletes as they joined a group of 50 in adventure, a camp organized by the Assam Mountaineering Association (AMA) in Guwahati. Rohan Ho, a Floorball Gold Medalist from the Austria Games 2017 took the lead amongst the Athletes, also readily assisting and in a way, leaving a mark with the organizers. Rinku, a Cricketer from the SOAP Regional Games 2013 too joined the group. The complete group interacted and helped each other in an informal environment. “The last we participated was about 3-4 years back. But seeing the way the activity reflects homogeneity, I will attempt to send the Athletes always. In fact I will encourage and support them to continue as well.” Dr Anjana Goswami, Area Director SO Bharat Assam. Four out of the nine Athletes would be going for the advanced adventure Camp, to be held later this year in Darjeeling. About AMA

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Odisha set to gain a bigger football experience

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After having successfully engaged with the

SO Bharat Delhi footballers and training the

female team representing SO Bharat at the

Unified Cup 2018 Chicago, the Delhi

Dynamos FC (DDFC) now rechristened as

Odisha Football Club (OFC) entered a

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with

the SO Bharat Odisha Chapter at the Hi-

Tech Medical College, Bhubaneswar.

A Presentation by the OFC Coaches on

football and a discussion with the 20

Coaches on Unified sports set the stage for

potential regular football engagements

percolating every district in the state. Initially the Sessions will begin in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack finally

spreading the enhanced football experience to every district of the state.

Aakash Narula, Head, Football Development, Odisha FC stated: "The Special Olympics Bharat have

carried out some incredible work over the years to help people with intellectual disability grow and evolve

through sports. Football is a game for everyone on this planet and we couldn't be happier to promote

inclusiveness through a continued association with Special Olympics Bharat."

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Ensuring to reach out to the Athletes with the best- through Capacity Building

The latter half of the year 2019 saw a series of training programs, workshops and conferences held for the

senior representatives of Special Olympics, to raise the bar of the sports experience reaching the Athletes.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS ASIA PACIFIC ORGANISED an INTERNATIONAL FLOORBALL SEMINAR in

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August 2019 in Singapore. Mr Victor R Vaz, National Sports Director, Mr Sukhvir Singh and Ms Kavita

Chhetti, Coaches from Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, joined the 18 coaches from seven different nations

of the Asia Pacific region in the four day seminar that aimed to better prepare the Athletes for the Special

Olympics World Winter Games 2021 where floorball will be

the sport with most participants. The seminar in Singapore

was conducted by Mr. Steen Houman who is both IFF Central

Board Member and Chair of Special Olympics Floorball

Sports Resource Team.

In conjunction with the Special Olympics global strategy

endeavors are undertaken continuously highlighting best

practices to spread awareness about the abilities of the

Athletes to drive a positive change in attitude and break mind-

sets. Highlighting quality over quantity, a Communication &

Development Workshop was held in Singapore in September 2019 presenting optimum use of the

available Digital Platforms while planning & presenting an accurate pitch for Fundraising & Development.

Ms Raman Rekhi , Director Marketing & Communication , SO

Bharat joined eleven countries that participated in the

workshop

September 2019 also provided an opportunity for Ms Simran Sahni, Intern Youth Initiatives, SO Bharat to attend a Leadership Academy held in Jakarta Indonesia. Aiming to foster highly motivated leaders who are proactive and innovative in their leadership ability, the Academy workshop offered direction and tools to help them effectively lead themselves, others and their organizations. The syllabus took them though a range of topics including leadership, influence and inclusion, planning and execution

__________________ Bringing Inclusive Education in conversations – Visit to Chattisgarh In the month of December 2019 Shrey Kadian, Athlete leader SO Bharat Delhi visited and engaged with the emerging State YAC Chattisgarh, headed by the Unified pair Ravi Jain and Vinay, supported by Dr Pramod Kumar Tiwari, Asst Professor (Physical Education) Seth RCS Art & Commerce College Durg.

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The visit was planned, to have Mr Dipak Natali , PMD , SOAP and Dr Amitav Mishra , General Secretary ,

SO Bharat witness Youth engagement in the state that has grown from the National Youth Summit held

earlier in the year in New Delhi (May 2019). Although the officials had an alternative commitment of

participating in an International Conference being held in Raipur, their visit was leveraged as an opportunity

to affect an open interaction with the youth leaders, to assess their strengths, challenges and provide

suggestions for ensuring their continuing activation.

A team of 20 Youth leaders organized the program. All traveled to Durg which is located about 40kms from

Raipur, to witness the program. Following a brief meeting with the Principal of the College, Mr Dipak and

Dr Amitav joined the Athletes and the youth leaders in a friendly Unified Bocce match.

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IKEA Foundation- Lets Play for Change Exclusive

Teams led by Dr Kalpana Sharma and Dr Ajit executed the third and final phase of research evaluation in the month of December 2019 in Jharkhand and Odisha

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SO Bharat Young Athletes Facebook page and You tube

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