This past week, I had the pleasure of staying in the Royal
Bafokeng Nation to volunteer for Special Olympics South Africa. First, let me say that the Bafokeng king
knows what’s up. The area gets its money
from mines and rather than hoard all of the money (like oh so many powerful
South African figures tend to do), the king has invested the money in the
community. He has supported sports by creating one of the World Cup 2010
stadiums, bringing in an NBA program, and supporting local sports. He has also helped to create the amazing school
(elementary-high school) where the games were held. This school rivals some
small American universities.
Peace Corps has a program for “response volunteers”. These are volunteers that already have served
for two years but decide to apply for a shorter, more specific position elsewhere. One of the SA response volunteers has been
working with Special Olympics all year to help create youth programs and to plan
the Youth Summit that was held during the cup.
I had the pleasure of getting to help out with the Youth Summit. Around 200 kids were chosen to attend (with
representatives from Kenya and Namibia).
They came in partners-one kid with a mental disability and one
without. The whole premise of the event
was to stop the stigma against disabilities and to treat all people as equal.
They dubbed it “the dignity revolution”. Nobody has disabilities; we all just have
different abilities…so people have “diffabilities”. The Summit was mostly youth led. With our help, the youth leaders planned
discussions and activities for the group.
They talked about their experiences, what they have learned, and what
they will do to change perceptions in their communities. Each group made an action plan for an event
or club they could start. As chaotic as
the event may have been, being a part of the kid’s experience was very
rewarding.
On another note, the Special Olympics were so happy to team
up with Peace Corps that they treated us real nice. They held a lunch to thank us at a 5 star hotel
and insisted that us poor village folk get seconds and take home left overs. We also attended a wonderful dinner with a
local dance group. We were invited to
the VIP events-meeting some incredible “celebs”. We got to meet the king, queen mother, SA
ambassador, consul general, Tim Shriver (CEO Special Olympics), Dikembe Mutombo
(former Houston Rocket), and many more.
All in all, I’d say it’s a week to remember!
Check it out--
http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/media/press/2127/
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