Most of the time, when we hear of a run or a walk, it’s to raise awareness, but this morning, the special Olympics committee held a run to do more, it hoped to eliminate a kind of prejudice against mentally challenged persons. The good news is that it was a big success. They drew a big crowd and of course it helped that they gave away over 1300 Tennis Shoes to Special Olympics Athletes and their fans countrywide. But more than just free shoes, organizer Akintade Atkins says that it helped chip away at stigma.
Akintade Atkins,
“We open our race this year to everybody who is willing to be a fan acceptance and who is willing to identify with persons who do not have the same intellectual functions as them and the results actually have paid off because this morning we had about over 600 in my conservative estimation that actually did participate in the race which means people are actually coming to terms with the fact that persons with disabilities can actually be involved in all societal activities irrespective of the fact that they may not have the same intellectual capabilities as us and that is the ultimate goal of this morning. It is not actually the giving away of tennis itself, I think actually it attracted those, I think it is the ultimate human capacity to love the other person who might not actually look like them.”
Another 500 participants are estimated to have taken part in the districts.
