Be a Fan of Dignity
Florence Nabayinda of Uganda takes a gold medal in the half-marathon, setting an example of what people with intellectual disabilities can achieve and sparking increased involvement in Special Olympics. The movement has experienced dramatic recent growth in Africa – creating a community of support for its future.
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Setting an Example. Florence Nabayinda takes a gold medal in the half-marathon – and gives a voice to Ugandans, and all Africans, with intellectual disabilities. See the video.
Stories of transformation and dignity don’t get much better than Florence Nabayinda's.
When she was a toddler in Uganda, Florence’s mother abandoned her. Her father beat her. Her teachers called her “stupid,” forcing her to quit school. She thought of herself as “trash.”
But Florence could run. And when an uncle introduced her to Special Olympics, she trained hard, and found she could run farther and faster than ever. In the Special Olympics Tanzania Games in 1997, she ran the 10K and won the gold. Two years later, at the Special Olympics World Games in North Carolina, she ran the half-marathon and triumphed again.
Before Special Olympics, Florence thought she was nobody. Through running, she found her voice. Now, Florence uses that voice to share her story with the world, as a Global Messenger and a Special Olympics International Board Director.
She works at the Special Olympics Uganda headquarters and has adopted a child. One day, she wants to serve in Parliament — quite a difference from the woman who once thought of herself as trash.
Florence’s story proves that people with intellectual disabilities can and do succeed. It’s especially powerful given the misconceptions and cultural myths that serve as barriers to people with intellectual disabilities. In many parts of Africa, people believe that intellectual disabilities are curses caused by displeased spirits. In some communities stricken with HIV and AIDS, myths circulate that having sex with a person with intellectual disabilities can be a cure. In still other communities, shame and embarrassment predominate – keeping people with intellectual disabilities hidden behind closed doors, ignored, beaten and abandoned.
Special Olympics Programs in Africa are turning things around – and growing. Grants from the Special Olympics Christmas Record Grant Program, made possible through the generosity of musical artists from around the world, are having a dramatic impact. Over the past seven years, the number of athletes involved in Special Olympics in Africa increased by a staggering 1,947 percent. Programs in 32 countries in Southern, Eastern, Central and West Africa now serve more than 100,000 athletes, and nearly all have signed on to Special Olympics International’s challenge to register 2 million athletes in Africa.
Around the Continent
In 2001, Special Olympics Global Ambassador Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with former South African President Nelson Mandela, launched Africa Hope. Together, at Robben Island, the site where Mandela was imprisoned for so many years, they pledged to reach 100,000 athletes in South Africa.
Since that day, the global community has been rallying together around Special Olympics athletes throughout Africa, helping to fuel the growth of sports training and health initiatives in the region.
- Special Olympics Africa and Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia engaged in a partnership in which European donors interested in investing in the development of Africa have been identified and shared with the Africa region.
- In Uganda, Florence Nabayinda, working with the National Director and Board leadership, reached 7,000 new athletes in just over one year.
- In Nigeria, a region where shame about intellectual disabilities is still prevalent and volunteerism is not a part of the culture, volunteers turned out in record numbers to help out with health screenings at local games.
- In South Africa, Mrs. Leah Tutu, wife of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, serves as a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics. From the world of sports, NBA and WNBA players, as part of the NBA Cares grass-roots basketball development initiative, taught athletes how to shoot hoops like a pro. And from the business sector, South African Airways (SAA), South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and Shoprite Holdings signed on as corporate program sponsors.
- And in Rwanda, a country torn apart by a 10-year genocide claiming more than 1 million lives, Special Olympics is an oasis of hope. In just two years, the Program has grown from just over 200 athletes to almost 5,000.
The work in Africa is just one example of Special Olympics’ unique ability to mobilize volunteers and local and world communities. In recognition, Special Olympics International reinforced its commitment to Africa at the close of 2007, establishing the Africa Trust: a pledge to raise $20 million USD in five years, continuing support of programs like the FIFA Special Olympics Football for Hope project, free medical screenings and outreach to bring sports, education and health opportunities to thousands of children and young adults with intellectual disabilities in some of the most remote parts of Africa.
The discord, poverty, famine and epidemics in Africa, so often seen on the news, are not its only story. Another story exists – a story of the hope, dignity and transformation that Special Olympics brings to Africa’s most forgotten people.
The progress to date has been tremendous, but many more millions are needed to reach our goal and ensure that all people with intellectual disabilities can live a life of dignity like Florence.
You can help transform Africa. Give to Special Olympics and help us bring people in all parts of the world out of the shadows and into the spotlight.
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