Kathmandu: On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2024 (IDPD 2024), a group of not-for-profit organizations in Kathmandu celebrated the power of inclusive sports as enabler of leadership and an important factor to promote disability rights. The Bright Star Society and ENGAGE, two local NGOs in partnership with Handicap International, organized “Celebration of Adaptive Sports: A Festival of Social Inclusion through Sports” on Saturday. The program was organized with the objectives of creating awareness about the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2024 and this year’s theme by engaging and involving youths living with disabilities and members of the community, students, sport coaches and youths living without disabilities, offering youths living with disabilities a platform to showcase their athletic and sports skills in an inclusive environment and introducing first time in Nepal a new sport—wheelchair pickleball and Deaf Pickleball, and promoting fitness and wellbeing practices within the public by having youths with disabilities modeling positive behaviors.
Over 70 youths and young adults with physical disabilities, participated in four variety of sports disciplines—Blind Football, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair & Deaf Pickle Ball and Deaf Football. They were joined by a group of students and volunteers involved and engaged in the field of adaptive sports. This event provided platform for the Nepali adaptive players to learn new Sports (Wheelchair & Deaf Pickle Ball & Blind Futsal) as well as showcase their sport skill where they are already good at (Wheelchair Basketball & Deaf Football).
Organizers lauded the initiative as a measure toward creating more inclusive society through sports.
“For the first time I and some of my friends with visual impairment were able to play blind football today. It was a first time that we used a special ball with sound that I had brought several years ago from the United States and finally got the right platform,” said Sushil Adhikari, Co-Founder of the Bright Star Society. “This event represents a small step towards creating a more inclusive society through sports.”
“Nepal can count with so many exceptional adaptive sports athletes, not only in national level but also in International Level. My recent learning visit in United States during Adaptive Sport for Social Change program gave me motivation to come-up with several adaptive sports in one platform,” said Kalpana Gurung, Community Sport Leader, Co-Founder of ENGAGE who is also International Exchange Visitor’s Program (IEVP) 2024 Awardee in Adaptive Sport for Social Change Program. “Today’s event was also possible because of like-minded organizations welcoming the creativity and innovative way to make an inclusive society.”
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