16 - 22 August 2001
Issue No.547
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 16 - 22 August 2001 Issue No.547 |
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A human touch
The nation, this week, played host to a special meeting -- literally; the first-ever gathering of Egyptian and Indian Special Olympics reps, as well as Special Olympics International (SOI) MENA and SOI Asia Pacific Managing Directors. Abeer Anwar was on the alert
It may have been an unprecedented gathering, but it should have come as no surprise, for it was after Egypt's great Special Olympics success -- a sure sign of the nation's advanced spot in mentally disabled sport -- that Dr Timothy Shriver, president and CEO of SOI, nominated the Egyptian Programme as a model; urging Special Olympics India to follow in its footsteps.
Under the guidance of Ismail Osman and Magda Moussa, SOE gathered 16,000 players in just two years; a phenomenal increase given its 2,000 player founding figure.
Needless to say, the world's eyes opened in awe; India, with its one billion population, wanted to know the trick of the trade.
"In spite of this the number of mentally disabled who joined the programme are only 20,000 athletes," said Denzil Keelor, SOI chairman. "We are facing a problem as we have this number stable for 14 years until now. We are unable to increase it so we will see the Egyptian story and imitate it."
Given the history of India's Special Olympics, imitation may not be such a bad idea. "The Special Olympics programme started in India in the early 1980s but it did not gain momentum except by the late 1980s," Noel Phillips, SOI India chief executive officer continued, "and since we have reached this number we are unable to increase it although the estimated number of mentally disabled in India is 24 million people. India's plan is to reach 100,000 athletes by the end of 2005."
Quite a lofty goal given the nation's performance so far. But given Egypt's cooperation, and India's determination, there may just be hope. "I am very pleased to succeed in our programme to the extent that we set a model for other countries to follow," said Osman, chairman of SOE. "It is a great honour bestowed on our shoulders and it increases our duty to keep the same level."
As a result, a joint protocol has also been signed between the Indian and the Egyptian sides to cooperate in the field of sports, health and vocational work for mentally handicapped. "It is very important to take care of the mentally disabled -- not only in sports, but to provide them with good health care, teach them how to work and be an effective part of society," Moussa emphasised. "This is the recipe to help make the mentally disabled become part of their own society."
Integration being key, Raj Bajaj, managing director of SOI Asia-Pacific, exchanged ideas with MENA managing director, Ayman Abdel-Wahab, regarding experiences, perspectives, and visions for an assimilated future.
Abdel-Wahab shared his goal: reaching a target 110,000 athletes by the end of 2005.
Just a dream? Not quite. Abdel-Wahab has it all planned out. "We have agreed to hold a number of joint training sessions and championships to exchange experience and learn from each other," he explained.
Taking advantage of SOI Vice-President Troy Gressen's presence at Cairo to attend the meetings, Abdel-Wahab held the first staff MENA meeting with the new colleagues: Communication manager, Ghada Abdel-Khaleq (Egypt), sports manager, Mohamed Nasser (Lebanon) and organisational development manager, Ali Shawaheen (Bahrain).
Plan in place, past performance up to pair and in perspective, it appears that Egypt is gearing up to take the Special Olympics world by storm; a feat arduous, and certainly admirable -- both in terms of sheer size and scope, but also, and more importantly, in terms of humanity. It is a task, none can deny, which mirrors the nation's remarkable culture; that, visitors say, cherishes the human touch.
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