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Natalia Melinikova, from Kirovograd in central Ukraine single-handedly started the local Program.
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Natalia Melinikova is from Kirovograd, in central Ukraine, and has been a Special Olympics volunteer for two years. The mother of twin boys, 18-year-old Alexander and Boris, who are Special Olympics athletes, and daughter Anna, 23, Melinikova single-handedly started the local Program, working with the private school her sons attend and community authorities.
"Parents call me all the time and ask how they can get their child involved in Special Olympics, while journalists just come up to me and ask about what I am doing," she said. "When my sons came back from the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Alaska, USA, they were different, more adult.
"Boris said to me, 'I now know I can live life just like other people can. I know I am valued." |
