Smoothing the way
Cairo hosted two meetings for mentally retarded athletes. Abeer Anwar rounds up what was said
Gearing up for a better future, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region of Special Olympics held meetings of the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) and the Athletes Leadership Programmes (ALPS).
"We are holding the two meetings at the same time, one for officials and the other for athletes, to show the world that mentally retarded athletes can be on an equal footing with everybody else," Ayman Abdel-Wahab, MENA's managing director, said. "They have their own views and they can plan for their future."
The RAC meeting was headed by Ismail Osman, chairman of Special Olympics Egypt, and included representatives from the region's 20 countries. The ALPS meeting discussed the MENA region for the year 2004, the new training seminars to be held and the number of athletes that have joined the national programmes during the past three years.
The 2004 MENA Games was also on the agenda as Special Olympics Tunisia agreed to host the Games that will take place from 8-12 October.
"The Games will include a number of new sports especially after the MENA athletes played in 10 sports at the 2003 World Summer Games," Ali Herzallah, MENA competitions and events director, said.
A plan to reach 110,000 athletes by the end of 2005 was also discussed. All stressed that programmes should work on doubling the number of their athletes and providing them with qualified coaches.
The RAC ended by stressing the importance of offering a better future for the mentally disabled by providing them with quality care. "The number of athletes in MENA has reached 30,000 but we must triple this number in the next two years, so all hands should join together to reach this ambitious aim," Osman said.
The ALPS meeting had in attendance Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Athletes were accompanied by their coaches.
"This is the second ALPS meeting to be held in our region," Yasmine Abu Friekha, MENA's initiatives consultant, said. "In such meetings, the athletes are taught to be official spokespersons for their programmes, assistant coaches and leaders in their fields.
"The meetings give the athletes the chance to determine their own future, plan it and to talk with each other, exchange views and share experiences. They also discuss the problems they are facing and means of solving them. They become decision makers, taking their future into their hands," Abu Friekha added.
"It's nice to feel like a leader, that you have a say in planning your future. I never imagined I'd get the chance to stand on the podium and express myself," said Maysa'a Al-Sandikli of Lebanon.
"My heart is small but I feel it's very big today as I will be a spokeswoman for my country and my programme. I thank all the people that worked hard to put us where we are," Dina Galal, from Egypt, said.
"It is really an honour to be with the children and see how they mingle and become decision-makers after coming out of their shell through Special Olympics," Magda Moussa, Special Olympics president, said.
Nibal Fatouni, MENA's initiatives manager, said the ALPS meeting had helped to prepare the athletes to represent MENA in the upcoming ALPS summit.
